PAD Program

Alberta Health Services (AHS) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has been tasked to develop a provincial Public Access to Defibrillation (PAD) program. The term public access refers to any Automated External Defibrillator (AED) outside of the health care system.

For the past ten years there have been several stand alone PAD programs being operated by various EMS organizations across Alberta. With the amalgamation of EMS province wide the opportunity has come to develop a universal provincial PAD program. There are two PAD Coordinators currently working on:

ü Branding the PAD Program – Heart Safe Community

ü Building a Provincial Online AED Registry

ü Developing a Provincial Website for all Albertans to utilize

The purpose of the PAD program is to educate individuals, groups and communities to the importance of how to:

ü Recognize and respond to cardiac emergencies

ü Strategically place AED’s in common public areas

ü Initiate CPR and AED use on site

ü Carry out AED activation and use competently

By placing AED’s in common areas, Alberta’s communities have the opportunity to decrease the incidence of death due to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) through the early intervention of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an AED prior to the arrival of EMS. This in turn can improve the likelihood of out of hospital cardiac arrest survival and promote the development of a "Heart-Safe Community" for Alberta.

The PAD Coordinators are in the process of developing a web-based information gathering and sharing platform that will house all the AED’s in the province. The exact location coordinates of the AED will also be integrated with the EMS dispatch system to facilitate activation of the nearest responder in proximity to an incident.

Other opportunities include assisting communities or potential donors in determining where to place future machines in that community to offer the best response options.

It is anticipated that the Alberta PAD Program, Heart Safe Community should become live in the fall of 2010 on the following website:

www.heart-safe.ca

Inquires with regards to the PAD Program can be directed to:

Emily Barclay, EMT-A

North PAD Coordinator

Alberta Health Services EMS

T 780.513.3046 F 780 513 5288

Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a condition where a person is unconscious, not breathing and without a pulse. Some facts about Sudden Cardiac Arrest:

Eighty-five per cent of people with Sudden Cardiac Arrest are in a specific heart rhythm called V-fib.
The only treatment for V-fib is an electric shock to the chest, called defibrillation, to reset the heart’s rhythm
Time is critical when a person experiences Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Every one minute of delay decreases the chance of survival by 10 per cent.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada recommends that the first shock be delivered in five minutes or less.

Heart attack warning signs:

Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain anywhere in the chest lasting more than a few minutes
Pain spreading to the shoulder, neck or one or both arms, stomach or back
Chest discomfort with light-headedness, fainting, sweating, nausea, vomiting or shortness of breath
Feeling of doom or denial

AED Locations to date:

Click here for a full list of AED Locations