Understanding the Cause and Reacting in a Crisis

Mitral Value Prolapse, also called click-murmur syndrome, is a heart problem that often goes undiagnosed.
Many patients with MVP have no symptoms, so theJessica_Circle_Braidscondition is only discovered through medical examinations such as an electrocardiogram, x-ray, MRI, CT or a sharp-eared doctor who hears the mid-systolic click that indicates a murmur.

Most of these tests are not performed on the average teen, so the condition often goes undiagnosed, as it did with Jessica Clinton. When she collapsed and fell to the ground, her heart stopped beating—but had there been an Automated External Defibrillator on hand she might be alive today.

The AED is a simple, easy to use medical device with a built-in heart rhythm analyzer. It’s virtually fool-proof and once the device is opened a voice prompt guides the user through operation. If the patient’s heart activity does not warrant defibrillation, the device will not become electrified, even if the operator inadvertently pushes the shock button.

Unfortunately, only a handful of the schools and parks in Saint Lucie County have an AED on hand—the goal of The Jessica Clinton MVP Foundation is to put one in every location.

View Our Detailed List of Heart Conditions

You can help—Make a donation to the foundation today …help us save another child’s life tomorrow.

To become a contributor click here.

AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR

Automated External Defibrillator (A.E.D.’s)

The Automated External Defibrillator, or AED as it has come to be known, is a portable electronic device that no school or recreational facility should be without. Unlike emergency room defibrillation which requires a certain level of expertise, this device is so simple to use that a passer-by could virtually step in and save a life.

The device automatically diagnoses potentially life threatening arrhythmia and will only apply electronic shock treatment when it is warranted. Even if the user were to panic and push the ‘shock’ button, electronic stimulation would only occur if the AED had diagnosed it as necessary. The user cannot override the machine’s diagnosis.

When the patient is diagnosed appropriately, and shock is applied, the device delivers electronic therapy that will restore the heart to an effective rhythm.

The Chicago Heart Start program conducted a two year study to analyze the effects of having AEDs immediately available. Of 22 individuals who collapsed 18 were in a cardiac arrhythmia which the AED could treat. Of those eighteen, eleven survived. And, interestingly enough, six of the eleven were treated by passer-bys with no previous experience using the AED.

For more information on AEDs, please visit Wikipedia.org – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_external_defibrillator

STATES & AED LAWS

 

Please note: this is a list of AED laws as mandated by state legislation, it is important to note that many counties and cities also have AED laws, for more information on your city or county AED laws please by check with your local law makers.

Alabama – Public schools serving grades K-12 Montana – No state mandates
Alaska – No state mandates Nebraska – No state mandates
Arizona – State building built after 2002 or having undergone major construction since act passed in 2002 Nevada – Public schools
Arkansas – Schools and health spas California – Health studios, fitness centers, golf courses, amusement parks New Hampshire – No state mandates
Colorado – No state mandates New Jersey – All public and private K-12 schools, assisted living facilities, health clubs, nursing homes
Connecticut – All schools, public buildings, higher education athletic departments, all licensed dialysis facilities, outpatient surgical facilities, residential care homes and assisted living service agencies New Mexico – No state mandates
Delaware – No state mandates New York – Health clubs, dental facilities, swimming facilities, places of public assembly, building of the state, schools
Florida – All public high schools offering athletics, dentist offices, assisted living facilities with 17 or more beds North Carolina – Government building
Georgia – All public high schools North Dakota – Public and private schools
Hawaii – All public and private schools, including colleges, other degree granting institutes Ohio – No state mandates
Idaho – No state mandates Oklahoma – High school athletic events and schools
Illinois – Dental offices that administer anesthesia or sedation; fitness facilities Oregon – Public and private schools, colleges and schools of higher education, health clubs, businesses with 50,000 or more square feet and at least 25 people congregating per day
Indiana – Health clubs Pennsylvania – Health clubs and hotels Rhode Island – Health clubs, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, public swimming pools, and every city, town, college campus and judicial office in the state
Iowa – No state mandates South Carolina – High schools
Kansas – No state mandates South Dakota – No state mandates
Kentucky – Public and private schools and their athletic events, dentist offices STATE Tennessee – Public schools
Louisiana – Any institution of higher education that competes in intercollegiate athletics, high schools participating in interscholastic athletics Texas – All schools, including charter schools, nursing homes, and related facilities
Maine – Schools serving grades K-12 and at school sponsored athletic events Utah – No state mandates
Maryland – County or municipality owned and operated swimming pools, physical therapy offices, courthouses, health clubs, schools and school sponsored athletic events, nursing homes, assisted living facilities Vermont – No state mandates
Massachusetts – All public schools, senior housing facilities, health and wellness facilities, health clubs Virginia – No state mandates
Michigan – State parks, life support vehicles, health clubs Washington – No state mandates
Minnesota – No state mandates West Virginia – Dentist offices
Mississippi – No state mandates Wisconsin – Child care residence
Missouri – No state mandates Wyoming – No state mandates

Good Samaritan Laws

Offers legal protection to people who give reasonable assistance to those who are, or who they believe to be, injured, ill, in peril, or otherwise incapacitated.[1] The protection is intended to reduce bystanders’ hesitation to assist, for fear of being sued or prosecuted for unintentional injury or wrongful death. An example of such a law in common-law areas of Canada: a Good Samaritan doctrine is a legal principle that prevents a rescuer who has voluntarily helped a victim in distress from being successfully sued for wrongdoing. Its purpose is to keep people from being reluctant to help a stranger in need for fear of legal repercussions should they make some mistake in treatment. By contrast, a duty to rescue law requires people to offer assistance, and holds those who fail to do so liable.

Good Samaritan laws may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction as do their interactions with various other legal principles, such as consent, parental rights and the right to refuse treatment. Most such laws do not apply to medical professionals’ or career emergency responders’ on-the-job conduct, but some extend protection to professional rescuers when they are acting in a volunteer capacity.