SEQUIM — Some kind hearts in the Sequim community are helping improve the chances their neighbors survive heart problems.
Clallam County Fire District 3 announced it has put in place eight automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) thanks to a more than $11,000 donation from the Sequim Dungeness Hospital Guild in 2017.
AEDs are lightweight, battery-operated, portable devices used to help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.
An AED analyzes an individual’s heart rhythm and, if indicated, enables “delivery of an electrical shock or defibrillation to aid the heart in re-establishing an organized and effective heartbeat,” according to a fire district news release.
Studies show that when sudden cardiac arrest occurs in the setting of ventricular fibrillation, time to defibrillation is a critical element in the chain of survival, the district noted.
For every minute that external defibrillation is withheld during ventricular fibrillation a victim’s chance of survival drops by 7 percent to 10 percent.
Fire District 3 intends to place these eight AEDs in the hands of some of its more remote EMTs in Diamond Point, Dungeness, R-Corner, Carlsborg and Sequim.
Since its inception, the guild has donated more than $715,000 dollars to the fire district.
For more information, call the Community Risk Reduction Division at 360-683-4242, ext. 114.
