(http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=320083&sc=98)
DAVE STEWART
The Guardian

The president of the Cornwall Curling Club says the volunteer board is giving serious thought to purchasing an automated external defibrillator after a Charlottetown man suffered a heart attack at the club Monday night.
“It’s definitely on the agenda,” John De Luca said Wednesday. “We’re talking to people. We might even try to fast-track it. We’re talking seriously about it.”
A Charlottetown man, said to be in his late 50s, suffered a heart attack on one of the ice sheets Monday around 7 p.m.
Benny Grant, former fire chief with the North River fire department, said firefighters arrived on the scene within minutes. Grant credits those at the club with helping save the man’s life.
“There was a lady at the time when we got there who was performing CPR on him,” Grant said. “We got there with our defibrillator and we were going to put the paddles on him when the ambulance came along. It took a little while. They shocked him a couple of times. After a while he came to and started breathing on his own.”
A similar incident occurred recently when Gordon Crozier of Cornwall suffered a heart attack at the APM Centre. That facility has a defibrillator which was used after the man went into full cardiac arrest. Crozier’s family has publicly thanked Communities 13 Inc. management, which runs the APM Centre, for purchasing a defibrillator.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Grant. “It’s a cheap piece of equipment to have around. You may never use it but at least it would be there.”
Grant says he knows the man who suffered the heart attack on Monday night at the curling club.
“He’s not out of the woods yet. He’s got a ways to go yet. It’ll take time. Doctors don’t like to call it a massive heart attack. They call it a significant heart attack.”
Defibrillators cost approximately $2,500. A cost-sharing program with the Department of Health and Wellness gives rinks $1,000 to put towards the purchase. Anyone interested in buying one can do it by submitting an application to Recreation P.E.I.
De Luca says the incidents at the APM Centre and curling club also draws attention to another important fact — the need for people to get CPR training.
“The first people who treated him had just taken courses on CPR and knew what to do and that was really critical. I think a lot more people should be taking those courses.”
The curling club president said that doesn’t take away from the importance of having automated external defibrillators on scene in the event something happens.
“We are serious about it, it is on the agenda and we are looking at putting it on the fast track. The (curling) season ends by the end of March. We don’t know whether we’ll have one before that time but we’re looking at even that possibility.”

How to operate AED:

— Regardless of which brand of AED is used, the only knowledge required to operate it is to press the “ON” button.
— Once the AED is turned on, it actually speaks to you in a computer-generated voice that guides you through the rest of the procedure.
— You will be prompted to place a set of adhesive electrode pads on the victim’s bare chest and, if necessary, to plug in the pads’ connector to the AED.
— The AED will then begin to automatically analyse the person’s ECG rhythm to determine if a shock is required. It is critical that no contact be made with the person while the machine is analysing the ECG. If the person is touched or disturbed, the ECG may not be accurate.
— If the machine determines that a shock is indicated, it will automatically charge itself and tell you when to press the button that will deliver the shock.
— Once the shock is delivered you will be prompted to resume CPR.