Tesco now HeartSafe
Tesco now HeartSafe with 900 defibrillators installed in their stores
Arrhythmia Alliance has announced that every Tesco shopper is now HeartSafe with the
placement of over 900 automated external defibrillators in stores across the UK, supported by the
Defibs Save Lives campaign.
This follows the launch of the Arrhythmia Alliance manifesto, ‘Now Is The Time… for Action to Save
Lives’, which called on the need for greater awareness and placement of public access AEDs in
communities to increase the chances of survival from a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
On its own CPR can save up to 10% of SCA victims, however when an AED is used as well, this can
increase survival to over 50% in people with a shockable heart rhythm. Every minute without
defibrillation decreases survival by 10%. Those people who witness someone collapse with a SCA
must call for help and dial 999 immediately, they must begin hands only CPR, and have access to an
AED which can then be used to shock the heart back to normal rhythm.
Trudie Lobban MBE, Founder & Trustee of Arrhythmia Alliance said: “Sudden cardiac arrest is the
nation’s number one killer, killing more people than breast cancer, lung cancer, HIV and AIDs combined. 100,000 people die each year due to sudden cardiac arrest; this number could be drastically reduced if more public access defibrillators were available in the community. An AED is simple to use, no training is required, the machine talks to you telling you exactly what to do. You cannot harm anyone by using a defibrillator HOWEVER you can SAVE A LIFE.”
Arrhythmia Alliance has led the call for the placement of AEDs to be available 24/7 in communities
over the last decade. It has run a number of awareness campaigns including those with Fabrice
Muamba and Bernard Gallacher, sportspeople who both survived sudden cardiac arrests by being
saved with an AED. These life-saving pieces of equipment should be as common as fire
extinguishers.
Arrhythmia Alliance is committed to its aim:
‘By 2020, more than 50% of sudden cardiac arrest victims in the UK, with a shockable heart rhythm, will return to live a full life.’
Is your community HeartSafe? For more detail and a copy of the Arrhythmia Alliance manifesto –
‘Now Is the Time…for Action to Save Lives, go to www.defibssavelives.org
Facts, figures and important points:
1. SCA happens when the heart suddenly stops beating because of a problem in its electrical
system. This results in 100,000 deaths in the UK each year, killing more people than lung cancer,
breast cancer and AIDS combined
2. When CPR is administered to someone who has suffered a SCA, they have just a 9 per cent
chance of survival
News Release
Media Contact: Sarah Edmunds
01789 867 529
s.edmunds@heartrhythmalliance.org
3. When CPR and an AED are used together, the average chance of survival goes up to 50 per cent, a
five-fold increase over CPR alone
4. If used in the first four minutes after SCA, defibrillators can give victims an 80 per cent chance of
survival – a massive 16-fold increase compared to CPR alone. However, the survival rate drops by 14
percent for every additional minute
5. AEDs are defibrillators that any member of the public can use to help restart the heart when
someone has suffered a SCA
6. AEDs come equipped with an internal computer and automated voice, which guides users
through every step. They monitor heart activity once pads are fitted to the patient and instruct the
user accordingly based on the readings they take. AEDs also internally self-test by providing a clear
indication with a green or red light as to whether there is any fault; these are checked regularly by trained staff.
If you wish to raise money for your own AED, please click here to find our more.