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Feature
Medic Partners With Atrium Health and Novant
Health to Improve Cardiac Arrest Outcomes
By Doug Swanson, MD, FACEP, FAEMS, and Grace Nelson, Public Information Officer, Medic
A ccording to the American Heart Association more than CPR training sessions to groups of 25 or more in Mecklenburg County,
356,000 persons in the country experience out-of-hospital including school groups, businesses, churches and other organizations.
cardiac arrest annually. Nationwide, the overall survival- The curriculum includes a 30-minute or one-hour course geared
to-hospital discharge is 10.8 percent. Remarkably, this has toward educating how to recognize a cardiac arrest, the importance of
changed little in the past 30 years. It is also known that 21 percent of these bystander CPR and its direct link to survival-to-discharge and patient
events occur in public settings and early bystander CPR tremendously quality of life. Emphasis is on empowering people of all ages with the
impacts the chances for survival. tools they need to perform bystander CPR confidently.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 356,000 The program also has implemented PulsePoint Respond, a free mobile
person’s in the U.S. experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest annually. application launched in Mecklenburg County in February that alerts those
Nationwide, the overall survival to hospital discharge is 10.8 percent. who have downloaded the app of cardiac arrest emergencies in a public
Remarkably, this has changed little in the past 30 years. It also is known place within a quarter mile radius of the app user’s location. PulsePoint
that 21 percent of these events occur in public settings and that early Respond is directly integrated into Medic’s 911 communication center,
bystander CPR tremendously impact the chances for survival.
which allows PulsePoint notifications to alert simultaneously
The Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) is with first responders. The app also directs the bystander
designed to improve out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival, employing to the nearest available AED. Keep the Beat trainings, in
a standardized reporting structure used by more than 1,400 EMS combination with the PulsePoint app, aim to increase the
Agencies across the nation. Nationally, per this database, survival to frequency of bystander CPR in those critical initial minutes
hospital discharge in 2018 for patients with a witnessed out-of-hospital and, thereby, improve cardiac arrest survival even further.
cardiac arrest in which the initial rhythm was shockable-rhythm
(ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia — the patients who All AEDs found in PulsePoint are verified as accurate
are believed to have the best chance at survival) was 28 percent. and registered with Medic’s 911 communication center.
PulsePoint users can add to this AED registry by uploading
Pre-hospital cardiac arrest survival in Mecklenburg County is among a photo and description of AEDs through a function in the
the best in the nation, with 54 percent of patients with a witnessed, app. This gives both Medic dispatchers and PulsePoint users
initial shockable-rhythm cardiac arrest ultimately being discharged in Mecklenburg County a greater chance at having an AED
home from the hospital per the CARES database. To positively impact available during a cardiac arrest incident.
these outcomes even further, it is necessary to reach more of the first
link in the chain of survival — the bystander. Keep the Beat is projected to be a five-year program
and is a unique opportunity for all Mecklenburg County healthcare
Mecklenburg EMS Agency (Medic) has joined forces with Atrium partners, first responders, non-profit organizations and businesses to
Health and Novant Health to develop Keep the Beat, a new initiative come together for one purpose: to save lives and continue to build upon
aimed at empowering bystanders to perform CPR and, ultimately, to Mecklenburg County’s position as a national leader in cardiac arrest
increase the chance of survival via bystander CPR each critical minute patient outcomes.
before first responders arrive on the scene. In 2018, only about one-third of
patients in cardiac arrest in Mecklenburg County received bystander CPR. For more information, go to KeeptheBeatMeck.com or send an email to
PR@Medic911.com.
Keep the Beat offers free bystander, hands-only and non-certified
6 | March 2019 • Mecklenburg Medicine
