South Carolinians are interested in ways to survive preventable death: in fact, that is what our column, healthy aging , is all about.  That is why it is of potentially important news to see that the deployment of AEDs has proven to save lives.
  
What are AEDs?
AED stands for automated external defibrillation units.  These are FDA approved devices now being placed in public places to treat potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias that commonly kill people.  These devices cost about $3000 a piece and can be used by anyone trained in basic CPR and AED.  Right now many fire departments, police departments, doctors offices are equipped with these devices, and they have proven very effective in electrically converting the heart rhythm to normal even in the midst of a heart attack.  The device needs to be applied and used quickly within 1-3 minutes to be most effective and should be used by a "lay" person trained to apply and use it.

What's new
The news is that AEDs have been placed in ever increasingly public places.  The highest profile public place are both of the Chicago airports.  They are place at one-minute distances apart so nobody in the airport is far from the device.  The good news is that in the first year of use at O'Hare and Midway airports 11 of 14 cardiac patients have been successfully resuscitated - that is an incredibly high 80% success rate.

What does this have to do with Seabrook?
The American Heart Association has listed the following "target areas" for the placement of AEDs and the training of lay personnel in their use:  gated communities is second on their list after sports arenas and ahead of shopping malls and other places.  Gated communities tend to have a population susceptible to cardiac arrest if they contain older Americans and certainly have the potential to have trained security personnel who could quickly respond.  Golf courses, tennis courts, and exercise places which tend to be within gated communities have been identified as places that AEDs might be placed.  The American  Medical Association reports that public places that experience the greatest incidence of cardiac arrests are, in order of frequency, airports, county jails, shopping malls, sports venues, industrial sites, golf courses, shelters, ferries, train terminal, health clubs and gyms, and community and senior citizen centers. 

How does one go about getting AEDs?
A physician must order and be responsible for the training of lay people in the use and maintenance of the equipment and skills.  If a community were to decide to invest in this new technology it must be done through a well considered plan that considers the economic and public education requirements.  Whenever something like this is considered the state laws must also be investigated since responsible authorities are reluctant to incur additional liabilities without some legal protection in the form of limited liability, such is the nature of today's climate.  Nevertheless, as we continue to explore ways to make the chances of a longer healthier life, AEDs are going to ultimately be a useful mechanism: they are proving to be life-savors.