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An analysis of serious injuries at 144 aquatic facilities at colleges and universities around the country found in a recent five-year period that 70 percent of all deaths were due to heart attacks while just 10 percent were a result of drowning.
"With the relatively high incidence of heart-related deaths, all aquatic staff should be trained in the use of automated external defibrillators," said Leland Yarger, coordinator of Ball State's aquatics program and a physical education instructor. "Automated external defibrillators should be required at public swimming facilities just as first aid kits are."
AEDs are portable automatic devices used to restore normal heart rhythm to patients in cardiac arrest. Applied outside the body, the device automatically analyzes the patient's heart rhythm and advises the rescuer whether or not a shock is needed to restore a normal heartbeat.
"If an AED is immediately used on a victim with heart failure, the survival rate is about 85 percent," Yarger said. "Organizations should consider the cost of $2,000 per unit versus the benefit of patron survival. If you have a cardiac event and the rate of survival depends on care provided at the scene, wouldn't you want this lifesaving device present?"
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