Defibrillators
in Rugby
Defibrillators in Rugby
In the UK, approximately 100,000 people suffer from
cardiac arrests each year regardless of their fitness, age
and lifestyle. This can happen anywhere, particularly
when the heart is put under pressure and so in sports
such as rugby, with high energy and impact, there can be
an increased risk.
A cardiac arrest stops the body from receiving the
oxygen it needs to function. The heart therefore goes into
arrhythmia, causing an erratic heartbeat. Without oxygen
the body will begin to shut down after 3-5 minutes and a
victim can die within ten minutes.
If a cardiac arrest occurs and no one is prepared the
survival rate is less than 5%. Using CPR and a defibrillator
together the survival rate can be increased by nearly
70% meaning that having staff trained in CPR and a
defibrillator on site can be the difference between life and
death. In order to achieve this survival rate, CPR must be
administered immediately and an AED should be used in
the first 3-5 minutes so speed is crucial.
A defibrillator works by shocking the victim’s heart to
stop the arrhythmia and hopefully encouraging a regular
heartbeat to start. AEDs can be easily used by lay people
that have had some training.
Learning how to deal with a sudden cardiac arrest is not
a training prerequisite for players but the life threatening
condition could happen to a fellow player anytime so
it could prove vital. Having someone able to carry out
CPR more than doubles the chance of survival and can be
taught as part of the RFU’s emergency First Aid course.
More information can be found at www.EnglandRugby.
com/firstaid
With every minute that goes by without treatment, the
chance of survival is reduced by around 10% and with
ambulances taking an average of eight minutes, waiting
for medical assistance to arrive will not save someone
from cardiac arrest.
Being able to use CPR and a defibrillator together is key
with UK Heart Charities stating that, “It would be better
if more people were trained in CPR, which buys time
before defibrillation.”
In just under 1/3 of cases, defibrillation will not be
required with CPR being the correct course of action.
When applied, the AED will analyse the heart rhythm
and be able to advise on whether defibrillation will be
necessary.
“The RFU have partnered with the Community Heartbeat Trust, the leading charity
in community public access defibrillator schemes. CHT work closely with the NHS
Ambulance Services, and can provide support to Clubs, Schools, Colleges/ Universities
with all aspects of procurement, training, governance and maintenance of automated
external defibrillators (AED).”
RFU Spokesperson
www.sportip.biz
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