Rotarian Dick Breukink performs life-saving action

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of unexpected death in the world, and it can happen to anyone anytime.  It is an abrupt disruption of the heart’s function, which causes a lack of blood flow to vital organs.  

Many of these people have no warning signs and showed no prior symptoms. The sad fact is that fewer than 5% survive unless they receive immediate treatment. The only definitive treatment for SCA is cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and early defibrillation. Time to defibrillation is key, with the chance of survival dropping 10% for each minute defibrillation is delayed. Having easily accessible automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has the potential to save thousands of lives. 

This is what Rotarian Dick Breukink of the Waikato Sunrise club in New Zealand found out in July.

Dick is General Manager of Novotel and Ibis Tainui Hamilton.  He attended the Rotary District 9930 Conference in Hamilton in May 2012, when he met AED Distributor Carl McIntyre, who discussed the need for AEDs in public places. Having had his own life saved with an AED, Carl and his company CGM Medical now work to ensure that public access defibrillation programs are rolled out across NZ to help increase survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest.

In a heart-felt move, Dick went to his Board of Directors armed with a quote for an AED for each of his hotels. His request was quickly approved. Dick said, “You don’t buy these devices with the intention of ever having to use them; you hope that they are merely a preventative measure”.

However less than three weeks after he’d taken delivery of his units, Dick had to use one of his new AEDs.  A driver had pulled up to the hotel in a panic because his father was having a heart attack in the back of his car. The driver quickly called for an ambulance and needed to confirm the address of the hotel so that the ambulance could respond.  Dick happened to be walking through the foyer with a member of staff and saw the commotion. By this time the man’s heart had stopped beating during a sudden cardiac arrest. Instinctively, Dick called for someone to fetch the AED, and he put his training into practise, assisted by his hotel Chief Engineer Keith Atkinson.

The AED was turned on and the electrodes attached to the man’s bare chest. The AED quickly analysed the man’s heart rhythm and prompted, “SHOCK ADVISED” as the ambulance arrived. The Paramedic quickly delivered the shock and started to perform CPR. The AED even aided his CPR, prompting the paramedic to “PUSH HARDER”. Dick said, “It was an amazing feeling to see the unit perform as expected, and it was a great outcome as the man was breathing when the Paramedics loaded him in to the ambulance, although we were both quite shaken after what we had just done”. 

For more information about the ZOLL AED Plus, the only Full-Rescue AED available today, please contact Carl McIntyre on +64 21 928 000 or email CGMConsultancy@xtra.co.nz.