For most people, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is fatal. When the condition hits, each minute that passes without CPR reduces the chance of survival by seven to 10 percent, according to Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins.
That’s why the Seattle Fire Department has partnered with the Medic One Foundation to develop an app for SCA victims. PulsePoint works in tandem with a community’s emergency dispatch network and alerts CPR-trained bystanders when someone in their direct vicinity is suffering from sudden cardiac arrest. The app also notifies users where the nearest automated external defibrillator (AED) is located, which can be critical in emergency first-response.
PulsePoint learns the location of AEDs thanks to input from its users. When people find AEDs, they can add the location, photographs, and descriptive information that other users can reference in an emergency. Businesses in King County can register their AEDs online.
The app saved an infant’s life two years ago in Spokane when Jeff Olson, who was working at a tire service shop, received a PulsePoint alert near his location and was able to perform CPR on the baby just minutes later.
The app, which you can download here, launched in King County Wednesday. The Medic One Foundation is working with local fire departments to bring PulsePoint to additional communities in Washington, thanks to funding from the Employees Community Fund of Boeing. The goal is to recruit 15,000 users in the area.
Scoggins announced PulsePoint’s launch with help from Seattle Mayor Ed Murray.
“People living and working in Seattle have access to emergency life-saving care that is second to none in the world, thanks to our Medic One system,” Murray said in a press release. “With PulsePoint, we can boost our sudden cardiac arrest survival rate even higher.”
