Simply Heart Health

A defibrillator, several decades back, was considered a sophisticated piece of medical equipment that can only be used by trained medical personnel, including doctors, emergency room nurses, and paramedics.

However, many cardiology studies have documented that a large number of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) cases could have been revived promptly and debility and death prevented if defibrillation had been immediately applied – together with CPR – at the time of the arrest.

These findings have prompted medical equipment manufacturers to develop defibrillators that can easily be used by laymen. These equipment are called Automated Electronic Defibrillators, AED defibrillators, or simply AEDs.

What is AED? In the simplest of terms, these are small portable electronic defibrillators which you use to shock the heart when a patient suffers from cardiac arrest. One company that has been developing AEDs is Philips Medical Systems. The company is most famous for its Philips Healthcare Defibrillator, with the most popular product in the line being the HeartStart series.

Product Description
The Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator is being widely endorsed as part of the Philips Healthcare line. It is being advertised as an important piece of safety equipment that you home cannot do without, especially if you have a family member with a heart ailment.

When Sudden Cardiac Arrest occurs, the electrical impulses that are responsible for your heart’s regular pumping rhythm short circuits. Because of this, the heart goes into a state of ventricular fibrillation, wherein the heart muscles flutter or quiver weakly, thus causing abnormal to even zero heart rhythm. In the event that arrest develops, you need to use the Philips AED to shock the patient’s heart, so that it will resume pumping normally again.

The Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator consists of the actual defibrillator, two Adult SMART Pads cartridge (guaranteed to last for 2 years) and a rechargeable battery (with an estimated lifespan of 4 years). The machine can be taken anywhere, thanks to the accompanying red carry case (which is also supplied with a 911/EMS card). If you have a child with heart disease at home, you can get a prescription from your cardiologist to be able to purchase the optional Infant/Child Pads cartridge. All of these items come with a 5 year warranty.

There are also some freebies with this device. One of them is a training video on how to use your Philips heart defibrillator properly. You will also get free discount coupons which you can use to get CPR training with the American Red Cross, Medic First Aid or the American Heart Association.

One very important freebie which you should not fail to fill up and mail back to Philips is the enclosed Support Enrollment Card. Enrolling in this free program entitles you to a free Fast Response Kit (worth over $40) and exclusive access to a variety of services, consisting of 24/7 customer service, post-use counseling, and periodic accessory reminders and notifications on new HeartStart products.

The Pros
The Philips Healthcare Defibrillator is one of the best AED defibrillator devices in the health market today. It is also one of the easiest to use.

The HeartStart series is equipped with sophisticated sensors that will determine if the patient really does need to be shocked. The device gives out clear, calm step-by-step voice instructions, so that you don’t panic while giving emergency medical aid. It also adapts the instructions it gives to you based on how you act and your movements. The device will even tell you when you should stop shocking and perform CPR as well as guide you through the steps.

Do you dread maintaining such high tech devices? This won’t be a problem with the Philips AED. The device performs a thorough systems check daily, the status of which you can easily see on the small monitor.

The Cons
As with other AEDs that are being sold today, it is still necessary for Philips Healthcare Defibrillator owners to get both AED training and AED certification. Convenient as the device may be, it still needs human intervention. You yourself will need to learn how to correctly perform CPR and how to determine whether a patient requires shocking or not.

Aside from these, there are also a number of safety precautions that you need to know before actually using the device. For example, to prevent shocking yourself, you need to wear rubber gloves. You also should not administer the shock in a wet environment. Before using the defibrillator pacemaker implants under the skin should first be detected. You risk seriously damaging the pacemaker if you apply the pads directly on top of the implant. These are just a few of the safety rules that you need to observe with AED use.

Arguably, the biggest drawback to the HeartStart AED is its price. With an Amazon price tag of close to $1,200. Still, no price is too extravagant when the health of an ailing loved one is concerned.

Where Can I Buy the Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator?
You can buy this Philips HeartStart Defibrillator on Amazon. From what I can tell when comparing prices with other online merchants, Amazon do currently have the best deal. Click here to view on Amazon.

Where Can I Read More Reviews Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator?
The best place for reviews from people who actually use the product is Amazon. Click here to read more.