Electronic CPR board helps save lives

Worldwide, 3,200 of these devices are being used by paramedics in attempts to save lives

By Jim Hart

The Sandy Post, Jul 22, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

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Sandy firefighters are convinced: The fire department’s new electronic device is one of the best $15,000 purchases the department has made.

“This (device) has changed the way we work a cardiac arrest incident,” said Nathan Jaqua, EMT Basic and student firefighter. “We use the same skills, but it changes the entire atmosphere.”

Estacada firefighters must also have the same attitude. That department just took possession of only the second AutoPulse east of Portland.

Heart attack victim Belus Schonek of Sandy agrees, from what he has been told, the ZOLL AutoPulse non-invasive cardiac support pump is responsible for his full recovery after he was legally dead for 45 minutes — while his heart was not pumping blood and he was not breathing on his own.

“I am sure the (AutoPulse) board played a part in my total recovery,” Schonek said. “It’s not like I have problems with my kidneys, pancreas or brain or any other issues that might have resulted from my heart attack. I was able to fully recover, rather than recover with some other ailments.”

The AutoPulse consists of a backboard and a load-distributing LifeBand® that calculates the size, shape and resistance of a patient’s chest, according to information provided by Diane Egan of ZOLL Medical Corp., maker of the device.

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