Zoll AED Plus An Insight into its Salient Features

The advent of science and technology has brought in many wonders to mankind. It has also miniaturized and improvised many things that were once very huge and cumbersome some decades back. One such device that has undergone this transformation is the Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

Defibrillators were once a device that could only be found in hospital environments and could only be handled by people who were qualified and trained to do so. As technology advanced, the size of these devices began to shrink and its functions became automated which enabled even lay persons to handle the AED with the help of some step-by-step instructions.

With this advent, the AED entered the facet of not only emergency medical personnel but also started getting placed in public places like stations, hotels, schools, airports, malls, etc. even though you might now find the AED in many public places, you must remember that most cases of sudden cardiac arrest, for which the AED is used, has been noticed to occur most often in the victim’s own home.

For this reason, many people are now opting to purchase an AED so that it can help save lives of their family members in an emergency such as sudden cardiac arrest. Even though there is a difference between heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrest, people who have suffered a heart attack are at high risk of sudden cardiac arrest. So, it is best that such high risk people have an AED at home to meet emergencies like a SCA.

There are many brands of AED available on the market. Although the basic principle of any AED is the same, the features slightly differ from one to the other and people opting to buy an AED should look at all the features provided and compare them so that it helps them make a decision more easily.

One such brand of defibrillators that are available on the market is the Zoll AED Plus. The Zoll AED Plus is like any other AED is a portable device to be used in case of ventricular fibrillation caused due to Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Along with providing for Defibrillation with a biphasic waveform, the device comes with other features like CPR help which is a very helpful tool in providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The CPR help in the Zoll AED Plus will help even a novice provide proper CPR to the person suffering from SCA to revive the heart. It not only provides instructions it also enables the person to know whether the depth of the compressions provided is adequate or not. It also helps the emergency care provider keep up the proper rate of compressions.

The Zoll AED Plus is very simple to set up as detailed instructions are provided in the way the connections need to be made. Once the installation is complete, the AED device will perform an efficacy test by itself and perform these tests on a periodic basis to know whether it is performing properly or it needs any maintenance.

The Zoll AED Plus has good quality gaskets and seals that improve its ingress value so that it can be effectively used even in wet environments. Also, it comes with ten lithium batteries which is a cheaper option than other AED devices that come with proprietary batteries that are more highly priced. Also, the AED device functions effectively even if as many as five of the ten batteries die out and does not perform. The function of better protection against dust and water ingress along with cheap battery option enables for easy and cheap maintenance of the Zoll AED Plus.

Like any other AED device, the Zoll AED Plus also provides the person performing the defibrillation with step-by-step instructions. These are combined with pictorial depictions to help people who find it difficult to follow such instructions. This makes it quite easy for one and all to follow what needs to be done to provide defibrillation to the stopped heart and the CPR help aids in providing CPR to the patient.

One of the most important necessities while providing emergency care is the necessity of a patent airway. If the airway is not clear, there is no point in trying to revive the heart. For this reason, the Zoll AED Plus instructs the care provider to utilize the cover of the device to be placed under the shoulder blade of the patient to provide for a clear airway.

Unlike most AED devices that use two pads to provide defibrillation, the Zoll AED Plus uses a single pad. The advantage of this is that it eliminates confusion and enables even a novice to handle pad placement correctly and avoid errors. Although it is less likely that very young children and infants will suffer from SCA, the Zoll AED Plus has optional pediatric pads that allow for a pediatric algorithm.

Also, like many other AED devices on the market, the automated Zoll AED Plus checks on the condition of the heart and determines electrical activity to check on whether or not defibrillation is required. If the electrical impulses traveling to the heart are normal, the device will not provide any shock to defibrillate the heart. Instead, it will inform the user that the electrical activity within the heart is normal by not allowing a shock to be delivered.

For the benefit of people who wish to learn proper pad placement and the way in which the Zoll AED Plus needs to be used for defibrillation and CPR, Zoll provides videos for training. You can even learn the proper steps for using the AED device by going to the Zoll website on the internet. Zoll also makes available periodic software upgrades to help keep all AED devices up-to-date with current regulations.

There are many AED devices on the market today costing anywhere in the range of $1000 to $2500. When choosing any AED device, it is not only necessary to check the price tag but look at features that make the device convenient for use to any novice while being easy on the pocket for maintenance.