MedWire News: A UK scheme to place heart shock machines called automated external defibrillators in public places such as leisure centres and airports has been a success, and should be extended, say researchers.

In the 1990s, the British Heart Foundation began to fund the provision of defibrillators in public areas for people suffering cardiac arrest. The scheme was later extended when the government provided a further 700 public access defibrillators in 'high-risk' locations.

Automated external defibrillators, which are designed to be used by trained people working in the area, are now common in airports, leisure centres and other public places. The devices are also issued to lay volunteers as 'community first responders', who can be dispatched by ambulance control centres because they can reach a victim sooner than a conventional ambulance.

In a study of the effectiveness of the public access defibrillation programme, Dr Michael Colquhoun, from Cardiff University in the UK, and colleagues found that the devices were used on 735 cardiac arrest victims between 1999 and 2005. Of these, 245 (33%) were resuscitated and 18% survived.

The survival rate was 30% when defibrillators were available on site, and between 5% and 10% when mobile devices were issued to community first responders.

The difference in survival rates was due to the time taken to reach the cardiac arrest victim with the device, and the number of witnesses present to alert the responders.

Writing in the journal Resuscitation, Dr Colquhoun and team conclude: "Public access defibrillation is a highly effective strategy for patients with sudden cardiac arrest... who arrest in public places where automated external defibrillators are installed.

"Community responders who travel with an automated external defibrillator are less effective, but offer some prospect of resuscitation for many patients who would otherwise receive no treatment. Both strategies merit continuing development."

Commenting on the findings, Colin Elding, from the British Heart Foundation, said: "This research shows that many people who survive a sudden cardiac arrest in the community have often received early defibrillation using a public access defibrillator administered by a trained responder.

"The British Heart Foundation is committed to increasing access to life-saving defibrillators and in training people to use these in order to increase the chances of survival from cardiac arrest."