Posted on March 5, 2001 at 4:45 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Employees at almost 20 sites in the Birmingham area have received training to help people who suffer a heart attack. Eventually 40 malls, offices, golf courses and other facilities will be involved in a UAB study of whether the automated external defibrillator (AED) represents an efficient method for delivering heart-shocks to patients outside a hospital.

“Between a fourth and a half of the annual U.S. deaths from heart disease are sudden and unexpected,” said Dr. Thomas Terndrup, chairman of emergency medicine and director of the UAB study, said. “Most sudden deaths from cardiac arrest happen outside a hospital, and it’s estimated that only 1-5 percent of these patients survive to be discharged from the hospital. Early defibrillation is critical to improving survival.”

A study proving the effectiveness of AEDs appears in this week’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Study sites are randomized so employees receive either training on AED as well as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR alone. With trained volunteers always at the site, the patient can be expected to receive defibrillation treatment before paramedics arrive on the scene.

“Businesses, agencies and utilities have given us a warm welcome as we take part in a national effort to determine better ways of saving lives of people outside medical facilities, Terndrup said.

The AED is a lightweight, portable device that includes a battery and circuitry designed to analyze heart rhythm and inform the operator whether a shock is indicated. Information is transmitted to the device by electrode pads used for both monitoring and shock therapy. AEDs automatically guide the user through a few simple steps.

The national study in which UAB is participating will help determine how widely the AED should be deployed, and provide information on their cost-effectiveness, among other issues.

Study sites include:

• McWane Center
  
• Hoover Country Club
  
• Highland Golf /Tennis Complex
  
• Galleria Mall
  
• Brookwood Village Mall
  
• Old Overton Golf Course
  
• Jefferson County Courthouse, Birmingham
  
• Jefferson County Criminal Justice
  
• Jefferson County Family Court, Bessemer
  
• Jefferson County Courthouse
  
• Bell South Downtown
  
• Bell South Inverness (AOC)
  
• Bell South Colonnade Parkway
  
• Shoal Creek Club
  
• Greystone Golf Course
  
• Bluff Park Methodist Church
  
• Hunter Street Baptist Church
  
• The Wynfrey Hotel
  
• Mount Royal Tower
  
• Birmingham City Hall