AED defibrillator For Children And Infants

An AED should be used by children and infants and can be used for a better chance of improving survival as soon as possible. When it appears at the scene, check the AED. If the patient is less than eight years old, pediatric pads should be used. Where pediatric pads are not available, regular (adult) pads will be used. Do not encourage the pads to be touched while using regular (adult) pads. A manual defibrillator should be used for children younger than a year old, if available. It is important to remember an electric shock may be the cure for a fatal heart rhythm.

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Cardiac Arrest Among Children And Babies

Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a life-threatening emergency arising from an abrupt and unforeseen loss of heart function resulting in loss and fall of consciousness. If not treated within minutes, SCA can be fatal. Survival outside a hospital relies on local persons calling 911 and timely emergency response from bystanders.

Every year, over 2,000 children, apparently stable people under the age of 8, die of sudden cardiac arrest. These deaths leave behind an immense and tragic effect on families and neighborhoods. Muscle strains and stress are among the common causes of kids' chest pain. Most heart-related chest pain in kids is caused by infections, structural abnormalities, or problems other than heart attacks.

Causes Of Cardiac Arrest In Young Age

In children and young adults with no previously known heart issues, here are some potential causes of sudden cardiac arrest:

• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: This is the most common cardiovascular cause of SCA in young people, typically inherited and sometimes undiagnosed. Muscle cells, or ventricles, thicken in the lower chambers of the heart. This, particularly during exercise, can cause an irregular heart rhythm. There may also be other forms of pediatric cardiomyopathy that play a part.
• Coronary artery abnormalities: Defects in the way the coronary arteries attach to the heart during exercise can lead to a reduction in the blood flow to the heart muscle and cause cardiac arrest. Young people with coronary artery defects are normally born with them but when they are older, they do not notice the signs.
• Primary arrhythmias: Defects in the way the coronary arteries attach to the heart during exercise can lead to a reduction in the blood flow to the heart muscle and cause cardiac arrest. Young people with coronary artery defects are normally born with them but when they are older, they do not notice the signs.
• Long QT syndrome. A disease of the heart rhythm that can cause rapid and irregular heart rhythm.
• Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome: In the heart, an additional electric pathway causes a detour that can make it pump very rapidly.
• Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD): In this genetic disease, scar tissue covers some of the heart’s muscle tissue.
• Myocarditis: Typically exacerbated by an illness, myocarditis means that the heart’s walls are inflamed. In infants, most cases of myocarditis happen when a virus-like an enterovirus gets into the heart. It may also be caused by infections of viruses, fungi or parasites, and by allergic reactions to such medications.
• Marfan syndrome: This connective tissue disease can result in aortic blood vessel tears in the heart. People born with the disorder, who appear to be tall and have long limbs, do not recognize why they have it.
• Commotio Cordis: Caused by a blow to the chest directly over the heart at certain points in the heartbeat cycle.
• Stimulants and medications: Heart rhythm may be impaired by some prescription treatments and stimulant drugs.

AED Steps For Children And Infants

Instead of a heart attack, infants and children are most likely to experience cardiac arrest due to a lung or airway problem. Owing to this, emergency ventilation of infants and children can still be paired with chest compressions. Not all would be able to do something or they might not be prepared to do it. Here are the steps for treating cardiac arrest among children:

1. Check if your child can respond

• Tap your child or kindly shake it. Call out the name of your child.
• Stay with him or her if the baby reacts. 911 call. Till emergency rescuers come, keep your baby comfortable and warm.
• Do the following if your baby does not respond, is not breathing, or is gasping for breath:
• Make the person dial 911 if anyone is with you. Often, he or she can try to locate an AED defibrillator. In the meantime, begin right away with chest compressions.
• Start with chest compressions and emergency breathing if you’re home. For 2 minutes, proceed. So if you’ve seen your kid collapse, dial 911 immediately. If there is one readily available, use an AED.

2. Start chest compression

• On a hard surface, lay your baby on his or her back.
• Just below an imaginary line that runs between the nipples, put 2 fingers on the breastbone of your child.
• To compress the baby’s chest, use 2 of your fingers. Press the baby’s chest down to a depth of at least ⅓ inch. The depth is around ½ to 1 inch.
• Allow the baby’s chest after each compression to come back up. This provides time for the heart to be refilled with blood.
• Do 30 compressions, quickly press down. At a pace of at least 100 to 120 compressions per minute, you should be doing these.
• Now is the time to give them if you’re trained in CPR and can do rescue breaths (look at step 3)

3. Start rescue breathing

• Place one hand on the forehead of your baby. Place 2 fingers under the baby’s chin with the other hand and tilt the head gently upwards. Don’t tilt the head back too far.
• Place your mouth over the open mouth and nose of the baby if the baby does not start breathing right away. Send one gentle rescue breath lasting 1 second (count “one-thousand” in your mind). The lungs of babies are small, so don’t give yourself a full breath.
• Check if your baby’s chest rises:
• Air has entered through the lungs once the chest rises. Let the kid exhale. Don’t do any more chest compressions if the baby responds by breathing, coughing, or moving.
• If the baby’s chest does not rise, the air has not reached the lungs of the baby. It is likely that the airway is blocked. Again, tilt the infant’s head. Check if the baby’s mouth has anything in it. Use your little finger to sweep it out if you can see an object.
• For 2 minutes, or before the baby breathes, coughs, or moves, continue with the sequence of 30 compressions and 2 rescue breaths.

4. Call 911

• Call 911, if it has not already been called, after 2 minutes of chest compressions and emergency breathing.
• If you know that you should automatically get an AED, get it quickly and put it next to the infant. Start to use the AED.
• Start chest compressions and rescue breathing again if there is no AED (steps 2 and 3). Continue until the child respires, coughs, or moves or until assistance arrives.

5. Using The AED

• Check that you are in a dry place. Move the baby to a dry area with a firm surface if not.
• Remove the clothes of the baby from his or her upper body. Dry the baby’s chest if necessary.
• Turn on the AED. Listen to and follow the instructions (voice prompt)
• Start again with chest compressions and rescue breathing. Don’t cut the pads on your chest. The AED will continue to evaluate the heart rhythm of the infant.
• Stay with him or her if the baby responds. Until help arrives, keep the baby safe and wet.
• Continue to follow CPR with the AED instructions. Do this before the baby reacts or assistance arrives.

In Summary

In emergency situations, it is necessary to be comfortable with operating an AED because rapid action is required. After 911 is called, it can take EMTs about 8–12 minutes to arrive, and each passing minute without defibrillation reduces the survival chances of a person by about 10 percent. An AED is most successful if the person collapses within five minutes of it being used. In areas with many individuals, such as malls, airports, and schools, AEDs are typically located. Medical experts should be present but AED is so easy to use by untrained people.