wurzner
Member III
I thought I would start a separate thread in response to Mark's thread "Eight Bells"
I thought I would take a few minutes to respond to Mark’s initial email since it is something very near to my heart (no pun intended). As you may or may not know, my former Ericson 32 was call Cardiac A Rest, a play on words because when sailing, you are either total relaxed or in shear panic depending on conditions or if you are racing. That being said, I worked for Medtronic Physio Control who was the pioneer in providing therapy solutions for Sudden Cardiac Arrest victims. During my course of employment, I became all too aware of the statistics that essential are a 10 percent reduction is the survival rate per minute that therapy (external shock) is delayed. CPR and emergency breathing are ok, but provide very little benefit if not supplemented with a shock wave for SCA.
I purchased my Father an AED for Xmas last year based on this information. In this case, I purchased a Heartstream (now Phillips) device for just around $1100. This was cheaper than the Lifepack CRPlus from Medtronic even with an employee discount. The reason I bring this up it either brand is excellent and well worth the investment for anyone who is at risk (overweight, cholesterol, smoker, heredity,) etc. Also, if is good if someone goes overboard in cold water for an extended duration of time. I believe you need a prescription for the CRPlus, but not for the Philips Heartstart(??). I plan on buying a unit for myself over the next year since I would hate to wonder “what if” when faced with an event and no equipment. Our cruising fleet captain was on a maiden voyage one month ago on his friends Carver 32. He went to pay moorage and found his friend non responsive. Emergency aid was given followed by external shocks within 3 minutes to no avail. The reason I point this out is this is good for SCA, but will not address all cardio vascular conditions. I’m sure there is a doctor on the list who can provide better information; I was a quality engineer so I’m not a subject matter expert…just a huge proponent of this technology.
Mark, I ‘m very sorry for you and your friend’s family… I wish you all the best working through this painful ordeal.
Respectfully,
Shaun Wurzner
S/V Sorcerer
E38-200
I thought I would take a few minutes to respond to Mark’s initial email since it is something very near to my heart (no pun intended). As you may or may not know, my former Ericson 32 was call Cardiac A Rest, a play on words because when sailing, you are either total relaxed or in shear panic depending on conditions or if you are racing. That being said, I worked for Medtronic Physio Control who was the pioneer in providing therapy solutions for Sudden Cardiac Arrest victims. During my course of employment, I became all too aware of the statistics that essential are a 10 percent reduction is the survival rate per minute that therapy (external shock) is delayed. CPR and emergency breathing are ok, but provide very little benefit if not supplemented with a shock wave for SCA.
I purchased my Father an AED for Xmas last year based on this information. In this case, I purchased a Heartstream (now Phillips) device for just around $1100. This was cheaper than the Lifepack CRPlus from Medtronic even with an employee discount. The reason I bring this up it either brand is excellent and well worth the investment for anyone who is at risk (overweight, cholesterol, smoker, heredity,) etc. Also, if is good if someone goes overboard in cold water for an extended duration of time. I believe you need a prescription for the CRPlus, but not for the Philips Heartstart(??). I plan on buying a unit for myself over the next year since I would hate to wonder “what if” when faced with an event and no equipment. Our cruising fleet captain was on a maiden voyage one month ago on his friends Carver 32. He went to pay moorage and found his friend non responsive. Emergency aid was given followed by external shocks within 3 minutes to no avail. The reason I point this out is this is good for SCA, but will not address all cardio vascular conditions. I’m sure there is a doctor on the list who can provide better information; I was a quality engineer so I’m not a subject matter expert…just a huge proponent of this technology.
Mark, I ‘m very sorry for you and your friend’s family… I wish you all the best working through this painful ordeal.
Respectfully,
Shaun Wurzner
S/V Sorcerer
E38-200