At some point in the process of getting to know a new friend here at Dartmouth, I always end up having an awkward conversation explaining to him or her why I have a two-by-two-inch metal box in my chest. "It's like a pacemaker," I say. "Except it only monitors the heart, and if anything bad happens it'll shock me with 700V of electricity." If this fails to make sense, I try to make the connection between my device and automated external defibrillators. AEDs are clever devices designed for any Good Samaritan to use as a first response to sudden cardiac arrest, or heart failure. They are designed so simply that a child could use them; the machine prompts you to affix two pads to someone's chest, takes over and decides if there is a problem, and then administers a shock to correct one if there is. So my box is like one of those boxes; I just carry it around with me all the time.
I'm lucky in this respect. Because of some family history and a pre-existing condition, I was cleared to have a life-long failsafe, while most everyone else must depend on there being an AED in the vicinity should tragedy strike. You've probably seen these at FoCo or the gym, but what about the places where we spend most of our time? After a few minutes of searching, you'll find that these life-saving devices are nowhere to be found in your residence halls.
Since we don't regularly see students dying of heart failure, and college-aged kids aren't the most predisposed to heart issues, it may seem unnecessary to have an AED in each building or residence cluster. I firmly believe, however, that even in the face of budget cuts, the College should add this safety precaution to better protect its students. After working with Parent Heart Watch, an organization dedicated to propagating AEDs in schools across the nation and to raising awareness about SCA, I have heard countless stories about young people who died of SCA, but could have been saved if an AED was close by.
According to the American Heart Association, sudden cardiac arrest is a relatively recently discovered phenomenon in which a person,with few symptoms, and often without a known pre-existing condition, drops dead from a malfunctioning heart. Approximately 350,000 people die per year of SCA, making it the largest cause of natural death in the United States and the cause of over half of all heart disease related deaths. It is worth noting that SCA is not the same thing as a heart attack rather than being caused primarily by high cholesterol or other factors, SCA often occurs as a result of a pre-existing arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat. Other inborn factors a thick heart wall, congenital heart defects, dilated cardiomyopathy (decrease in the heart's ability to pump) and long or short QT syndrome also increase chances of SCA.
We have AEDs hanging on the wall because they save lives. According the American Heart Association, brain and permanent death will start to occur just four to six minutes after sudden cardiac arrest a very slim timetable. Although Safety and Security vehicles (as well as all ambulances) carry AEDs, they can only respond to the scene, and then to the situation, so quickly. Having an AED installed in each building, and facilitating student awareness about the devices, would greatly increase the chances that a student suffering from SCA would get the help he needed before it was too late.
There are some issues with putting AEDs in largely unsupervised and busy residence halls. AEDs already come alarmed, however, so I don't think vandalism would be a huge problem.
Still, we would need to raise the general campus awareness on what these devices are, and when to use them. We would need people in the dorms who are especially familiar with the devices for quick response. As a UGA, I would be the first to volunteer for additional training as I'm sure many would if given the opportunity to save lives.
AEDs cost about $1,500 each. Across about 40 residence halls, that is $60,000, or probably less when bought in bulk. Most people associate heart problems with the elderly, but 14,000 individuals ages 25 and under die from SCA every year. Maybe it will never happen at Dartmouth. But if tragedy strikes, we should never have to look back and say, "What if?" Sixty thousand dollars is a paltry sum for the chance to save one life. Administrators, alumni, students: this affects you. Step up.
