The Resuscitation Council (UK) and the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) as well as the American Heart Association (AHA) emphasise the importance of good quality CPR as being vital to the successful outcome of an attempt to resuscitate a victim of sudden cardiac arrest. It is also understood that the delivery of good quality CPR is particularly difficult to perform consistently over a prolonged period of time. In most emergencies, the quality of CPR provided by the rescuer can make the difference between life and death.

What if you knew real-time how well you are performing CPR?

What if a defibrillator could tell you that you are doing good chest compressions?

What if you could capture all that data for CPR review, training and analysis?

Can all this be possible? With The ZOLL AED Plus® and AED Pro® the answer is yes.

ZOLL was the first to introduce technology to help improve CPR performance in 2002. ZOLL calls this technology Real CPR Help®, which is a standard feature on all of ZOLL’s defibrillators. This gives the rescuer the best real-time feedback to optimise the patient’s opportunity for a return to spontaneous circulation.

With ZOLL AEDs, Real CPR Help is constantly looking at your delivery of chest compressions and will assist all rescuers with the following feedback and prompting for help in providing effective manual CPR.

Audio/Message Prompting
Voice and message prompting helps the rescuer achieve optimal CPR compressions. Feedbacks such as “PUSH HARDER” helps accomplish quality compressions quickly, resulting in a reinforcing message, “GOOD COMPRESSIONS”. To minimise CPR idle time, “CONTINUE CPR” is another important reminder.

Compression Depth Indicator
Consistently achieve the depth of cardiac compression according to the ERC / UKRC/ AHA recommended depth of 1.5 to 2 inches.

Compression Rate Indicator
Easily achieve the compression rate of 100 cpm through a dynamic adaptive metronome beep that is easy to follow.

Lapse Time Indicator
Raises awareness of CPR interruptions by displaying the elapsed time from when the last compression was delivered.

Data Transmission
ZOLL’s AEDs have the capability to transmit CPR data, offering the ability for complete resuscitation review and playback.

Real CPR Help is accomplished with our quick and easy to apply CPR-D Padz™. There is no compromise to readiness with cumbersome extra electrodes to manage and position on the patient.

For ZOLL, it’s about offering technology for real help when responders need it most. Whether it’s helping you with manual CPR, or using data to help improve performance, at ZOLL, we believe that our technology will help rescuers to be more efficient and effective when it counts most.

No Shock Advised - CPR is Crucial

“Victims of cardiac arrest need immediate CPR. CPR provides a small but critical amount of blood flow to the heart and brain.”

“CPR prolongs the time VF is present and increases the likelihood that a shock will terminate VF (defibrillate the heart) and allow the heart to resume an effective rhythm and effective systemic perfusion.”

AHA 2005 Guidelines, pg. IV-14.

Shock Advised - CPR is Crucial

“In the first few minutes after successful defibrillation, asystole … may be present and the heart may pump ineffectively. In one recent study of SCA, only 25% to 40% of victims demonstrated an organized rhythm 60 seconds after shock delivery; it is likely that even fewer had effective perfusion at that point. Therefore, CPR may be needed for several minutes following defibrillation until adequate perfusion is present.”

AHA 2005 Guidelines, pg IV-14.

The Importance of CPR (Especially after Four Minutes of Cardiac Arrest)

CPR can be MORE important than delivering a shock!

“CPR is especially important if a shock is not delivered for four or more minutes after collapse. Defibrillation does not “restart” the heart; defibrillation “stuns” the heart, briefly stopping VF and other cardiac electrical activity. If the heart is still viable, its normal pacemakers may then resume firing and produce an effective ECG rhythm that may ultimately produce adequate blood flow.” AHA 2005 Guidelines, pg. IV-14.

Once in VF, the heart continues filling up with blood

The heart blows up like a balloon over the next four minutes

The heart becomes like a “flooded” car engine that can’t start because it currently has too much gas in the carburetor

CPR empties the heart of blood, returns it to normal size, and lets the shock get the heart muscle moving

AHA now advises that EMS providers arriving more than four minutes after collapse “give a period of CPR before checking the rhythm and attempting defibrillation.” (AHA 2005 Guidelines, pg IV-26.)

Summary of Guidelines 2005

• “Push hard! Push fast! Push deep!”
• More time devoted to CPR
• Less time to analysing, assessing and ventilating
• More chest compressions with fewer interruptions
• 30 compressions and 2 breaths (not 15 and 2)
• Deep chest compressions – 1½ to 2 inches deep