Can Home Defibrillators Raise The Dead?

Restoring life to the dead is in the realm of miracles and mythology. The fabled phoenix rose out of the ashes of its own funeral pyre. The Bible tells us that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, though he had been buried four days earlier.
Modern technology can’t match that feat, but it may be possible to revive someone within four minutes of death. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine (Oct. 17, 2002) documents just such an extraordinary case.
A 13-year-old Little Leaguer was at bat when a baseball hit him in the chest and he fell to the ground unconscious. As sometimes happens, the blow to the chest threw his heart into a deadly rhythm called ventricular fibrillation.
Two doctors in the stands started a resuscitation attempt and a police car responded to the 911 call. There was a defibrillator in the patrol car, and the pads were applied within four minutes of the child’s collapse. The shock reestablished a normal heart rhythm and the boy recovered completely.
An equally amazing story came to us from a radio listener: “My nephew was at a Washington Redskins football game, and as he walked out to his car following the game he was run over. The driver backed his full-size Chevy Blazer out of a parking space and ran right across my nephew’s chest.
“A doctor walking behind him started CPR but told a policeman that my nephew was dead. The policeman had called an EMT and went after the driver (who drove away). He caught the driver and charged him with vehicular man-slaughter. However, at the same time the EMTs arrived and revived my nephew.
“The point is that his heart had stopped and he had been pronounced dead by a medical doctor. This was years ago and my nephew is perfectly fine today.”
Research proves that you don’t need to be a physician or an emergency medical technician to use a defibrillator successfully. Hundreds of thousands of people die of sudden cardiac arrest each year. Most of these deaths happen at home or in public places like stadiums or airports.
A recent study found that defibrillators placed in Chicago airports were used on 18 people who experienced cardiac arrest over two years. The majority of those using the equipment had no prior training in its use. The survival rate with good brain function at one year was 56 percent, compared to 5 percent for conventional resuscitation techniques.
The FDA has just approved such life-saving technology for people’s homes. “HeartStart” is made by Philips Electronics and will become available by prescription early next year. The cost will be roughly $2300.
Although this is out of range for many people, those who are especially vulnerable because of pre-existing heart problems may find it a worthwhile investment. The machine talks users through each step with instructions that are simple enough for a sixth-grader.
Of course, the first step in any heart emergency is to call 911. But having an emergency defibrillator on hand could restore a normal heart beat more quickly and make the difference between life and death.