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Owen County is the latest Indiana county to participate in PARADE, (Police As Responders--Automated Defibrillation Evaluation), an IU School of Medicine (IUSM) study that evaluates police as first-responders to cardiac arrest victims through the use of portable automated external defibrillators (AEDs) placed in patrol cars. The Owen County Sheriff's Department and the Spencer Municipal Police Department will equip 13 patrol cars with AED devices and train 40 officers to use the devices.
Researchers at IUSM's Krannert Institute of Cardiology began the PARADE study in 1997 with the rationale that police officers could be on the scene of a cardiac arrest more rapidly than traditional EMS responders, especially in rural counties, and could initiate resuscitation efforts. Quick response is critical in cardiac arrest cases.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops pumping. Treatment to restore the heart rhythm requires immediate electric shock therapy known as defibrillation. If treatment is not delivered within minutes, cardiac arrest often results in death.
http://www.medicine.iu.edu/public_media_relations/currentnr.html
Editor's note: Earlier this month, the American Red Cross announced plans to train Americans in the workplace in the use of AEDs. Read about it at this Web site:
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