Together with the team, CPR training is proposed / on the day
For six months, public and private spaces with access and concentration of more than a thousand people have been required to have at least one external automatic defibrillator to reduce deaths due to cardiovascular events. The measure is still being implemented unevenly, with soft areas in the public sector: it is an ongoing project in emblematic places such as the Podestá Coliseum Theater or the Dardo Rocha Passage, among others.
On the other hand, in the consultations carried out by this newspaper in official organizations and intermediate entities, the Republic of Children, the faculties and the Rectorate of the UNLP, and the Normal 1 school, are some of the places that already comply with the obligation of having automatic defibrillators to use in extreme cardiac episodes, such as sudden death. However, in the case of the reference school for the Buenos Aires system, it was achieved at the initiative of the cooperative.
Medical studies indicate that the automated external defibrillator (AED) and CPR can save 7 out of 10 lives in sudden death episodes. According to the Argentine Cardiology Federation (FCA) in Argentina there are about 30,000 sudden deaths per year, which is equivalent to 1 every 20 minutes. In addition, according to official data, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Argentina and cause the majority of sudden death cases.
In this context, Paola Caro, a doctor and director of an emergency system, maintained that Health statistics indicate that defibrillation in the first 3 to 5 minutes after the incident can produce survival rates of up to 70 percent. In addition, she remarked that when a person suffers a cardiorespiratory arrest, for every minute of delay, a 10 percent chance of resuscitation is lost.
“The first 6 minutes are crucial to be able to reverse the condition and even to be without sequelae or consequences,” he explained and highlighted the importance of knowing the Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) technique and knowing how to use an AED, since both maneuvers can save a life and provide assistance until the arrival of medical emergency professionals.
As reported, the defibrillator is easy to use because the equipment indicates the steps to follow at all times and applies a current discharge to the heart to restore the heart rhythm of a victim of cardiorespiratory arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is also essential, since it allows maintaining oxygenation of the main organs through chest compressions, in situations where the person does not have a pulse, is not breathing, or has had a sudden loss of consciousness and has stopped breathing. breathing and circulation.
In La Plata, the Municipality approved last year the Ordinance of adherence to Provincial Law No. 14,794, from which cardioprotected areas are created to guarantee resuscitation maneuvers and cardiopulmonary protection to reduce sudden morbidity and mortality of vascular origin.
As reported, the law promotes that in all areas where more than a thousand people gather, there should be at least one Automatic External Defibrillator device. The local Health Secretary has worked in recent months to train area personnel.
Likewise, the survey of public and private spaces that can receive that number of people or more was ordered.
The Children’s Republic has a defibrillator and it was announced that it will advance with the placement of these equipment in the Coliseum, the Dardo Rocha Passage and in the Ecological Park.
The measure includes soccer stadiums, clubs and gyms with massive attendance, as well as supermarket chains, among other spaces that DEA teams must have. It is clarified that there must be training for those who require it.
For its part, the National University of La Plata has been implementing the Cardiosegura University program since 2019. That includes equipping the faculties and dependencies with external defibrillators.
It was highlighted that most of the faculties, including Medicine, and schools have already been equipped. There is also a defibrillator in the Rectorate and in the Sports Field.
In addition, cardiopulmonary resuscitation courses were offered to staff and students, and some 1,000 people were trained last year alone.
Another of the educational establishments that has a defibrillator is Normal No. 1. According to a member of that educational community, the defibrillator was purchased with funds from the cooperative and teachers were trained in its correct use. “It is in an accessible place and using it is easy because the equipment has clear instructions”, he explained.
In Normal 1 there is already a team, which was placed at the request of the cooperative
The Federation of Cultural and Sports Institutions also promoted CPR courses in clubs last year. Fernando Carlos, Secretary of Health and Risk Reduction of the entity stressed that prevention must be a state policy with continuity. “At one time it was possible for the covered swimming pools to have a defibrillator and to make it available to the neighbors who live three blocks around to create cardio-safe zones,” he explained.
The big clubs will have to buy the defibrillators – their cost is around a thousand dollars -, but he stressed that it is also important that small clubs and schools have them. “There are clubs where people with a very sedentary life go once a week and there they have a cardiovascular episode right away or after two or three days. For this reason, there must be defibrillators, responsible managers and people trained in CPR; the first minutes of assistance are vital to save a life and that there are no sequelae”, said the specialist.
