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New American Heart Guidelines April 2008

April 2008 the American Heart Association updated their guidelines for Cardioresuscitation. For lay responders, AHA eliminated the need for rescue breathing and emphasised the importance of compressions for adults in witnessed arrests. In unwitnessed arrests, they still recommend rescue breaths and compressions. the reason they have made this change is in witnessed arrests, there is still adequate oxygen in the blood to keep the brain alive for a few minutes.

AHA also still recommend rescue breaths for adults in siutations of drowning. Rescue breathing is also recommended for children under 8 years of age and infants as they are most likely to have a respiratory problem.

Professional rescuers are still required to perform rescue breaths and compressions per the 2005 guidelines.

Does our AED need changed from the Guidelines 2005?

If your AED has "Guidelines 2005" on the back of it, it does not need to be changed. AEDs that coach in CPR of 30:2 are fine and are correct for non-witnessed arrests and professional rescues. CPR coaching with 30:2 is still correct for infant and children.

Please contact us if you have a Philips AED and still need to get it upgraded to meet the 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines. Most all Philips AEDs are able to be upgraded. We also have loaners available if you need to send your AED in for service.

HeartStart OnSite AED

To comply with the 2005 guidelines, the OnSite AED shock sequence needs to be reconfigured (from 3 in a row if needed to 1 shock followed by 2 minutes of Compressions)as well as changing the CPR coaching voice prompts (when you hit the blue i button).

Altra Medical can reconfigure the shock sequence only. We charge $75 per AED and it covers shipping both ways.

HeartStart FR2 AED

To comply with the 2005 guidelines, the FR2 AED shock sequence needs to be reconfigured (from 3 in a row if needed to 1 shock followed by 2 minutes of CPR)

There is also a new software upgrade 1.7 available from Philips. The new software adds QuickShock and Smart CPR. QuickShock speeds up the response time of your AED from discharging a shock in 28 seconds to 8 to 10 seconds following the stop of CPR. This is a great new feature as the new AHA Guidelines reinforce the need for minimizing time you are not doing CPR. Smart CPR can improve the chances of reviving longer down time patients by analysing the heart rhythm and making the correct recommendation to do CPR first or providing a shock. The cost to upgrade to version 1.7 software is $295 and is done by Philips. Please call us and we can do the paperwork for you. We can also provide a loaner if needed.

If you do not want to upgrade to the new software, Altra Medical can reconfigure the shock sequence to one shock followed by a two minute time out for CPR and change the voice prompts. We charge $75/AED and it covers shipping both ways.

If you have a Training and Administration Pack, you can reconfigure the FR2 yourself. Contact us for instructions. You can also purchase a training and admin pack for $325 that would allow you to reprogram multiple AEDs.

HeartStart FRx AED

To comply with the 2005 guidelines, the FRx AED shock sequence needs to be reconfigured (from 3 in a row if needed to 1 shock followed by 2 minutes of CPR).

Altra Medical can reconfigure the shock sequence only. We charge $75/AED and it covers shipping both ways.

Altra Medical is offering special discounts to trade in your Forerunner for newer technology. We also accept trade-ins from other manufacturers. Contact us for details! 1-866-777-8555.