if we are talking cardiac problems, the only thing which will work in such a tight spot is a defibrilator.
There are some things for which it might work, but you wouldn’t normally use a defibrillator without performing some chest compressions.
Even if it were practicable to perform CPR in an aircraft and use a defibrillator, the success rate is miserable. Only a few percent of patients who have CPR survive and go home from hospital without brain-damage. The most useful thing a pilot can do is to get the aircraft low – then on the ground as soon as practicably possible.
I would wager that part of the reason airliners carry defibs is that 1) everything that can be done has been seen to be done and 2) they will save few if any lives, but by helping to confirm that the heart has stopped and can’t be restarted, they will prevent a lot of diverts.
As I understand it (being an engineer not a doctor), in the case of a Sudden Cardiac Arrest the ONLY way to restart the heart is electric defibrillation….CPR will keep oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and must be applied continuously until the defibrillator is used….but CPR cannot restart a heart that has stopped
Some years ago defibrillators were installed in the offices where I work and no sooner did they install them than a guy had cardiac arrest. One of the calmer engineers in the group, originally a Nebraska farm boy, figured the thing out in a few moments and got the guys heart going. I was impressed.
The odd thing was this happened shortly after the defibrillators were installed, and I’ve yet to hear of one being used again. Luck I guess.
I’ve not dwelled on the subject of people having a major health event in my plane… Sure you do your best but when it’s time to go maybe it’s time to go. It does occur to me that some harnesses would keep an unconscious individual from blocking the controls – which could kill both of us.
No, hearts often restart without a defib. Physical stress can cause the membranes of the muscle cells to stop acting as insulators and can reset them – makes them leaky.
Sometimes a whack to the chest at the wrong time will stop the heart, and a whack to the chest can be enough to synchronise all the muscle fibers again and restart it. The problem is being certain that the heart has actually stopped, as a blow to the chest on someone with a weak but beating heart may be enough to kill them.
will work in such a tight spot is a defibrilator.
As a non-autopilot flyer, I find the idea of using such a device in a light aircraft, while flying it, rather dangerous. And for you high-tec high-altitude guys, does a defibrillator have any effect on, eg Garmin G1000 if used in close proximity?
PS my last flight was delayed while a Cessna twin spiralled down from FL190, single pilot, with one crew (at electronics in back) collapsed. The guy is believed to be OK after ambulance pick-up. O2 rumoured as a possibility
