REGIONAL- Lifesaving help for someone suffering a cardiac arrest could be closer than ever now that the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office has joined the PulsePoint network.
PulsePoint Respond is an app and a nationwide service that supports emergency responders by making it easier for bystanders to help a person experiencing cardiac arrest until medical responders arrive.
When a possible cardiac arrest call in a public location is placed to 911, anyone in the vicinity of the call who has downloaded the free PulsePoint Respond app will receive an automatic alert. They can respond to the scene and begin CPR until first responders arrive.
“We’re hoping it encourages people to get CPR certified, but even if you’re not, download the app,” said Supervising Deputy Brandon Silgjord. “The app will actually give you CPR instructions. If you get to a location where there’s a cardiac arrest, you can open it and it will give you a quick instructions, it has a beat that it plays that you’re supposed to do the rhythms to -- it kind of does everything for you if you need it to.”
People who aren’t trained to do CPR who download the app will only receive notifications for possible cardiac arrests that occur in public locations like stores, restaurants, gas stations, parks, and so on.
But those who are certified in CPR will get alerts for any cardiac arrest call in their area, including private residences.
“We don’t want to send just anybody to a private residence, but let’s say a local firefighter there in Cook (who is certified) doesn’t keep his pager on him. Most everyone has their cell phone, so he’ll get that notice and if he’s nearby he can go help. Most of our deputies live out in the country like myself. If I’m mowing my lawn and my neighbor were to have a cardiac arrest I would get that notice so I could run to help.”
The app also will provide information on the location of any nearby Automatic External Defibrillators (AED). All marked St. Louis County Sheriff’s patrol vehicles now are equipped with an AED device, thanks to a grant from the University of Minnesota School of Resuscitation Medicine.
When a person experiences sudden cardiac arrest, their chances of survival decrease by seven to ten percent for every minute that passes before help arrives, Silgjord noted.
“PulsePoint is a great new tool that will save lives in St. Louis County,” he said. “As large as our county is, response times can take longer, especially when weather may be bad. So, we are thankful to Arrowhead EMS, which funded this program for us.”
An additional component of PulsePoint offers a second app for people to register the location of AED devices. This information is shared with emergency responders and nearby citizens through the Pulse Point app for use when a cardiac emergency occurs. During October, which is Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, PulsePoint is offering an incentive contest. Anyone who registers an AED device is entered in a drawing to win one of ten gift cards, each worth $500.
Both the PulsePoint Respond and the PulsePoint AED apps are available for download from the iPhone App Store and Google Play.