'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
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.