Defibrillator can be key to survival

Last September, Robert Capuano’s life was saved by a small gray box. The 52-year-old Medford resident had just arrived at work one morning when without warning he went into cardiac arrest.

Last September, Robert Capuano’s life was saved by a small gray box. The 52-year-old Medford resident had just arrived at work one morning when without warning he went into cardiac arrest.”The last thing I remember is my head hitting the wall,” said the attorney with Stark & Stark in Cherry Hill. Capuano’s quick-thinking co-workers went into action, administering CPR and calling 9-1-1.Police officers were on the scene in less than two minutes, but their timely response was not the only thing that helped save Capuano’s life that day. “Fortunately they had the presence of mind to bring an (automatic external defibrillator),” Capuano explained Wednesday. He was speaking at the American Heart Association of South Jersey’s annual Heart Day fund-raiser and awareness event at Ponzio’s diner in Cherry Hill. During the event, the AHA presented 17 defibrillators to Cherry Hill-area schools, libraries and police departments in an effort to improve survival odds for cardiac arrest victims. Currently, just 5 percent to 8 percent of victims survive attacks, but studies of airports and casinos show that rates increased to 75 percent among facilities equipped with AEDs, reported the journal Medical Crossfire. “The key to survival of cardiac arrest is implementing the chain of survival (process), and these defibrillators are important in that chain,” said Dr. Perry Weinstock, a Cooper University Hospital cardiologist and president of the AHA South Jersey board of directors. He added that Harrah’s Casino has successfully revived 14 of its 17 cardiac arrest cases since placing defibrillators inside its properties in 1997.”We were the first Casino property in Atlantic City to implement the program, and we have worked with other casinos to set up their programs,” said Harrah’s Showboat Casino spokeswoman Susan Cotzen. To date, AHA South Jersey has donated 41 defibrillators to area businesses, schools and emergency response organizations. The device, a box about the size of a first aid kit, directs a current of electricity to the heart. The emergency care equipment provides the only treatment that can correct ventricular fibrillation, the most common cause of death from sudden cardiac arrest. AHA officials estimate wider distribution of defibrillators could help save 50,000 lives annually, but the $1,200 average price tag for the device makes purchasing AEDs cost prohibitive for many smaller businesses and public institutions.As a result, some private companies are also stepping forward to help with the distribution effort. After his cardiac episode, Capuano’s law firm purchased an AED for its offices and donated a second unit to the Cherry Hill Police Department.”It’s just absolutely incredible to me that one of these devices worked and saved my life,” said Capuano. “If those police officers hadn’t shown up when they did, I wouldn’t be standing here.” (Source: Courier Post, South Jersey, May 2004)