Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator (AED)
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List Price: Our Price: $1,275.00 You Save: $720.00 (36%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Product Reviews of Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator (AED)
Product Review: Physician approved but not right for everyone
Summary: 5 Stars
Though I am a doctor, this review should not be interpreted as medical advice as I am not aware of your personal risk of heart disease. The decision to buy one of these is up to you and your physician. Below I explain why I am considering betting one of these, factors that may influence your decision to by one for your home, and why as a business owner you may want to get one.
I do not own this product but am looking to get one for my car/home. I am doing so because as a physician I have saved lives with these devices in the hospital. I know how critical it is to rapidly correct short circuits in the largest portion of the heart, called the ventricles. These short circuits, known as v tach or v fib can only be reliably fixed within several minutes of onset. Even if you dial 911 it may be too late by the time paramedics arrive.
On the other hand the chance that any single person will need one of these devices is low. And the cost is not cheap!
Things that you may want to factor into your decision to buy one of these devices is whether you have someone in your family who is at moderate risk for heart disease and short circuits. For example someone with a prior heart attack but who still has a strong heart might consider having one of these (people with weak hearts may actually want to have a defibrillator implanted into their skin). If you live alone this would not be a wise choice since someone else will need to use if on you. I think it would be wise to be trained in Basic Life Saving if you want to use this devise to prevent inappropriate use that may be harmful. Also you definitely need to keep this out of the reach of kids.
So if you are someone at risk for a short circuit of your heart, live with someone who can get trained in life saving, have the money, and especially if you live a long way from a paramedic, think about buying one of these devices. Things such as food, medication, heat are much more important however.
If you own/run a business with customers or employees over 50 years old, such as a health club or restaurant, get one and get trained. You could save the life of a customer or employee, which is wonderful in many ways. I also guarantee you there is a lawyer waiting for one of your patrons to have a heart attack and die at your business and sue you for millions because "you were too cheap" to buy one of these. So both from a humanity, good business, and liability standpoint this is a wise investment for a business owner.
Product Review: From a paramedic in NYC..
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a New York State, City, and Nationally certified Paramedic with 3 years in ems.
I was reading a couple of the earlier reviews..and wow.
These are some important things you need to know:
(I'll leave out the technical issues and medical terminology.)
The most important thing you can do in the event of *any* emergency that might have to do with your loved one's heart is call 911. Always call 911.
Even if defibrillation is successful on your own and the pulse is returned they still need to go to the hospital. The emergency isn't over. Medications usually need to be administered and the chance that the person might slip back into cardiac arrest (which may or may not respond again to defibrillation) is always present so they require evaluation and treatment en-route to and at the hospital. That's what we're here for.
With that said, using an AED correctly and at the right time can be a great asset and drastically improve chances of survival (which aren't great to start with). It bridges the time gap between the onset of arrest and our arrival to deliver our own defibrillation and other treatments (While we do our best to get to you quickly, minutes count).
It's extremely important that if you're going to be purchasing a defibrillator of any type that you eroll into a CPR course (I suggest American Heart Association's course as it also covers
the use of an AED and how to implement it's use in the home when combined with CPR and obtaining access to 911.).
NOTE:
An AED is useless unless you know how to use it correctly. It could even be harmful to you or detrimental to your loved one's outcome if used incorrectly. The ability to perform CPR is paramount. The defibrillator and CPR go hand in hand and you need to be proficient in the use of both in the event that you need them.
With that said I want to dispell the following..
Myocardial Infarction (heart attack) is *NOT* cardiac arrest.
It can precede and be the cause of cardiac arrest, but the heart attack itself is not treatable within the home or with a defibrillator.
I saw several people, supposedly ems professionals, posting reviews referring to MI as cardiac arrest, or inferring that MI is in some way treatable by way of a defibrillator..this was mentioned repeatedly.
It isn't (and it's disturbing to even read that).
Much of the other information they gave was also inaccurate, right down to the statistics given. Going into all the issues is beyond the scope of this 'review' so all I can say is, again,
do your own research and make your own informed decision.
and.. (to dispell some fear from previous reviews)
EMT-Basic training is normally tought during a 6 month program.
(there *are* condensed programs, but those run much longer hours and are held 5+ days a week.) This also doesn't take into account all the guys who do additional training and research on their own or the knowledge they've gained throughout their career and experiences.
That's what makes a medical professional.
Don't be afraid to call 911 guys, they *are* trained well for what they do.
..and if the techs can't handle it, they can always call us medics for help.
Product Review: Excited to see this product available to average consumers
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been a paramedic for 8 years. I have worked on countless cardiac arrest victims. The overall survival rate for victims of cardiac arrest is very low, but EVERY single person that we have successfully been able to revive has been through the use of a defibrilator. Though the comments made by a few others about proper medical care with medications hold some value, the definitive care for a patient in ventricular fibrillation (the most common initial electrical rhythm in cardiac arrest) is defibrilation. That is exactly what this product does. These type of products are essentially fool-proof. Anybody can learn to use one in less than 5 minutes. I strongly urge anyone reading this review to learn CPR and purchase this device. It may be several minutes before I can get to your home while your loved one is laying on the floor with no heartbeat. Give them the best chance of survival that you can.Product Review: It is not fair...
Summary: 5 Stars
It is irresponsible for people that do not know about this, to post in your site any opinion about something as important as sudden death. There are two people in your site (both of them signing as EMTs), saying that an AED is not so important to prevent sudden death.
I am a cardiologist and have been training people in Emergency Cardiac Care for years now and can say that they are absolutely wrong. I have no relation with any AED manufacturer and all of the FDA approved ones are good.
VF and VT are the cause of most sudden cardiac deaths. About 80% of people who dies suddenly have this arrythmia as the main cause. Just in the US, every year die more people of VF or VT than of car accidents, house fires, breast cancer and prostate cancer together.
This does not mean that to have a HeartStart AED in your home is as good as controling risk factors or going to a hospital if you have chest pain or shortness of breath. But, if someone in your home has a heart condition you can save them with an AED if you act in the first 8 minutes after cardiac arrest. The AED is a very effective device if used well. You should also learn CPR but, without defibrillation, the chance of surviving is a lot less.
In places like O'Hare Airport in Chicago they save about one person every two weeks using defibrillators. No one can affirm that all AEDs WILL save lives. But they could. It is not indicated for everyone but, for someone who can spend $1500 and have a heart condition that make them prone to sudden death, this device can be a very justificable spending.
Product Review: LEARN CPR!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
I am an EMT and retired Hospital Administrator.
Like the first reviewer I view marketing this without the proper training to be irresponsible.
If the person has a Myocardial Infarction, resulting in a true "flat line" ECG a Defibrillator is useless without the proper drugs which have to be given intraveniously or injected directly into the heart to start random heart activity.
Only then can a defibrillator shock the heart into proper pumping action.
The most important thing a layman can do is learn CPR. If you can keep OXYGEN going into the lungs and then circulate that oxygen to the brain and heart (PUMPING) you have done the ONLY really important thing. If people use this for a Myocardial Infarction, INSTEAD of IMMEDIATELY starting effective CPR, the TIME Philips causes them to waste deprives the brain of oxygen and dooms the patient.
I've defibed scores of patients but NEVER successfully unless two people had already done CPR until we could get the drugs injected first.
The gentleman with the implanted device does not have a Myocardial Infarction ...just an electrical arrythmia which the little battery in his device can sense and "retime" the heart....thats a whole different thing.
For an MI learn to do CPR properly. If you can get oxygen to the brain you can keep the person in a salvagable state until properly trained persons with ALL the tools, heart stimulants, bicarbonate to return the blood to it's proper Ph etc can arrive and the defibrillation have a chance of working.
Phillips can market this thing only because it has a computer which keeps it from working when it shouldn't so the FDA figured it's harmless. BUT IF IT WASTES TIME in starting CPR, it's NOT harmless.
Buy the RED CROSS First Aid Manual