Pulsepoint: Download the App, Save a Life – Henderson Fire Department Launches Live-Saving App Today
The Henderson Fire Department, partnering with the nonprofit PulsePoint Foundation, is providing a free app that alerts a person when they are within a quarter mile of someone in a public place who needs cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or an automated external defibrillator (AED). The new app is available today to coincide with Heart Month.
By raising citizen awareness of cardiac arrest events, usage of the PulsePoint Respond app can increase the survival rates of cardiac arrest victims by reducing collapse-to-CPR times. A leading cause of death in the United States, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) accounts for an estimated 356,000 deaths each year.
The American Heart Association estimates that 70-80 percent of sudden cardiac arrests occur outside the hospital. For every minute that passes without CPR and/or defibrillation, the patient’s chance of survival decreases by 7-10 percent. Bystander intervention and treatment with CPR and/or an AED, which can triple the survival rate to 31.4 percent, a heart association study notes.
“Nationally, fewer than 6 percent of those suffering a sudden cardiac arrest will survive,” said Henderson Fire Chief Shawn White. “A community-based response can move that percentage. An immediate response to an SCA can be provided by the community, as well as emergency responders.“
How the app works: After a 9-1-1 call is received by Henderson Police and Fire dispatchers, users of the app who have indicated they are trained in CPR are notified if someone nearby is having a cardiac emergency and may require CPR. Using location-based services, the application directs these off-duty and lay rescuers to the exact location of the patient and the closest public access automated external defibrillator (AED).
The app is available on iTunes and the Google Play store. CPR and AED training is available throughout the Las Vegas Valley, including City of Henderson’s Valley View Recreation Center. For more training locations, visit the American Heart Association website.
The adoption of this app ties into the City of Henderson’s Smart City Strategy, which provides a vision for investment in and implementation of citywide smart city initiatives through 2020. One focus of the strategy is public safety and response time analysis with an aim to improved response times in Henderson.
PulsePoint is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation committed to making it easier for citizens trained in CPR to use their life-saving skills.
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