'Managing' sudden death: Doctor pushes to install defibrillators in Quebec's public spaces
A Quebec cardiologist is spearheading an effort to install more defibrillators in public, with the goal of making the life-saving machines more accessible in a crisis.
An automatic external defibrillator (AED) can restart a heart, but only if you work fast, Dr. Paul Poirier explains.
"If there's no defibrillator nearby, they will die. Every minute correlates with [a] 10 percent death rate. Ten minutes, you're dead," Poirier told CTV News.
Poirier wants AEDs placed at central points where people often pass by or gather, especially in rural areas.
"We have to put it in schools, we have to go public," he said. "Sudden death, by definition, is sudden. You cannot prevent it so you have to manage it."
He cited the dramatic case of NFL football player Damar Hamlin's collapse on the field last month.
"This guy is alive because he had a defibrillator nearby. Shock, bang."
He approves of the Quebec government's installation of 100 AEDs in automated bank teller locations. 900 more will be installed in the future.
The next big hurdle is to engage the public.
"We have to demystify that a defibrillator is not a safe thing to use," said Victoria Moorhouse with the Heart and Stroke Foundation. "It is 100 per cent safe to use with audio and visual prompts. Anyone can use a defibrillator."
Moorhouse, a CPR instructor, says if you see someone in cardiac arrest, call 911 and get the nearest AED.
The technology will take it from there, providing the user with clear audio instructions and pictograms.
"It's a portable device that will give an electric shock to the person who needs it. So anybody who doesn't need it, the defibrillator is smart enough to know [not to] give a shock," she explained.
After using the pads, resume CPR until paramedics arrive.
"Follow the tempo. The AED is there to guide you," Moorhouse said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.