Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator (AED)
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List Price: Our Price: $1,190.00 You Save: $805.00 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy 3rd Party: from $1,125.00 (click here) Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator (AED)
Customer Review: LEARN CPR!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
I am an EMT and retired Hospital Administrator.
Like the first reviewer I view marketing this without the proper training to be irresponsible.
If the person has a Myocardial Infarction, resulting in a true "flat line" ECG a Defibrillator is useless without the proper drugs which have to be given intraveniously or injected directly into the heart to start random heart activity.
Only then can a defibrillator shock the heart into proper pumping action.
The most important thing a layman can do is learn CPR. If you can keep OXYGEN going into the lungs and then circulate that oxygen to the brain and heart (PUMPING) you have done the ONLY really important thing. If people use this for a Myocardial Infarction, INSTEAD of IMMEDIATELY starting effective CPR, the TIME Philips causes them to waste deprives the brain of oxygen and dooms the patient.
I've defibed scores of patients but NEVER successfully unless two people had already done CPR until we could get the drugs injected first.
The gentleman with the implanted device does not have a Myocardial Infarction ...just an electrical arrythmia which the little battery in his device can sense and "retime" the heart....thats a whole different thing.
For an MI learn to do CPR properly. If you can get oxygen to the brain you can keep the person in a salvagable state until properly trained persons with ALL the tools, heart stimulants, bicarbonate to return the blood to it's proper Ph etc can arrive and the defibrillation have a chance of working.
Phillips can market this thing only because it has a computer which keeps it from working when it shouldn't so the FDA figured it's harmless. BUT IF IT WASTES TIME in starting CPR, it's NOT harmless.
Buy the RED CROSS First Aid Manual
Customer Review: AED's save lives... Period.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm concerned that some reviews here seem to indicate that AEDs require a license or other specialized training to use. Most states require that users take an approved CPR class that includes AED training. Most CPR classes today offer this additional training. If you are concerned, call your local ambulance or fire department. They should have good information about the requirements (if any) in your area.
AEDs save lives. They are very, very easy to use. They should be in every home and office in the United States. They are made to be virtually "idiot-proof." It is EXTREMELY unlikely that you could shock someone that didn't need to be shocked. They walk you through just what to do in a cardiac arrest emergency.
I have been a career paramedic for nearly a decade. I have managed dozens of cardiac arrests. Of the very few "saves" we have had, almost all of them involved the use of an AED before we arrived. CPR is important, but it's been overrated by TV. The #1 goal when the heart stops -- whether you're in the operating room, emergency room, in an ambulance, or lying on your living room floor -- is to defibrillate that heart in an attempt to get it to beat normally again.
An accepted statistic is that the chances of survival decrease by about 10% for every minute the patient is without a pulse. In most places, you're lucky if you can get an ambulance crew into your home in under 8-10 minutes. Factor in the time it takes you to realize what's going on and to call 911. You do the math. Even with CPR, without an AED it's just about hopeless.
This is a good product. Anyone who can afford it should purchase it for better peace of mind. You should also take a CPR class and familiarize yourself with the unit.
Customer Review: I'm not sure if everyone needs one for their home ...
Summary: 5 Stars
I am an individual at high risk of sudden cardiac arrest. I don't own a personal defibrillator but I have the implant in my chest. My implanted defibrillator and pacemaker is tuned up every 3 months by my cardiologist. The implant needs a new battery every 3-4 years so I have to undergo chest surgery at that time. The implant hurt like the devil after they installed it, but after 6 weeks it stopped hurting so much. My point is, if you are at high risk, why don't you get the implant? Do you need a scary electric device laying around that you may not be sure if you're using it right if you ever do use it? Have you had your first heart attack yet? Have you discussed this purchase with your cardiologist? If the answers to these last four questions is no, then maybe you should see a cardiologist first before you make the purchase. If you have not had a heart problem so far, and you're worried about it, see your doctor, maybe change your diet, stop smoking, etc. I think if you're shopping for this machine, maybe the implant is a better choice. The implant does it all for you and brings you back alive, without any intervention, unlike the product which needs someone nearby who knows how to use it properly.
Update 12/29/08: I recently visited my cardiologist and had my machine readout printed up, and was informed that on August 9, 2008, at about 5:00 a.m., my implanted defibrillator jolted my heart until it began to beat again and that the implant had saved my life. I did not wake up. My cardiologist informed me that without the implant, I would have passed away in my sleep without waking up.
I did not wake up. Who would have been there to use an external defibrillator on me to save me? No one.
Customer Review: Let the Buyer Beware!
Summary: 4 Stars
While Philips makes an excellent AED device[...]. The repeated assertions and/or implications that training, preparation and ongoing support aren't needed to utilize an AED are not only erroneous, they are a gross disservice to the public. They are also contrary to the history of providing Initial Emergency Care and Life Support as well as to the science of Emergency Medicine.
AEDs don't save lives...AED programs that are part of the fabric of a community EMS System do! Moreover, without an emergency mindset (i.e., the courage and confidence to act) most people simply don't and won't respond to a potential sudden death situation, regardless of how easy an AED device is to operate. Despite the simplicity and documented success of AEDs, this needed "mindset" does not come in the box with the new unit.
It must also be noted that not all cardiac arrests are caused by the electric malfunction ("ventricular fibrillation") that requires defibrillation. The victim of sudden death may also need CPR and ultimately, will always need the care of EMS professionals and transport to an appropriate medical facility.
The idea that people should buy an AED "just to have one" is a step in the wrong direction. It may well produce a false sense of security for buyers as well as hinder the growth of the AED movement and the effectiveness of community EMS Systems. Indeed, the protection "for hearts and brains too good to die" offered by AEDs should be available everywhere. But having an AED without people who are properly prepared and supported runs the very real risk of not giving the victims of sudden death with the 2nd chance at life that a properly utilized AED can help provide.
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Customer Review: Best Investment you'll hopefully never have to use
Summary: 5 Stars
As an Emergency Nurse Practitioner and Paramedic, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of getting electricity to an adult who is suffering from cardiac arrest. Technology is moving quickly to get electricity to the cardiac arrest victim earlier and earlier -- and the survival rates AND quality of life rates after such an arrest are sky rocketing accordingly.
Is there too much direct-to-consumer marketing by medical-related companies? Probably. Is your personal risk for experiencing sudden cardiac arrest per calendar year low? Definitely. ...but do those smug reviewers refuse to buy vehicles with airbags in them just because their risk of being in an accident is low and the direct-to-consumer marketing is irritating to them? No! Those will be the same folks who want their cars with anti-lock breaks, airbags, the best side-impact reinforcements... and being a good driver (ie, "just improve your diet") won't cancel their risk for being in an accident.
I hope you never have to use this machine, but as an emergency healthcare worker -- both pre-hospital and in the emergency room -- I cannot say enough positive about AED's in the community setting!
Don't run out and purchase this out of paranoia, however if yuo are at risk for a sudden cardiac event consider if this would be appropriate for you, your family members, your apartment building, your church, etc. ...and rest assured that it is absolutely safe -- it is impossible to hurt a loved one with this, you can only help.
...and to those who gave negative reviews on this AED? Don't forget to pay your car insurance!...