This Article Full Text Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by SoRelle, R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by SoRelle, R.

(Circulation. 2001;103:e9024.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.

Ruth SoRelle, MPH, Circulation Newswriter

Automated External Defibrillators Improving Survival After Sudden Cardiac Arrest

The use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) is an efficient method of delivering defibrillation to people who have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to a study in the March 7, 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. In addition, the use of the defibrillators by traditional and nontraditional first responders seems to be safe and effective (JAMA. 2001;285:1193–1200).

In their study, researchers led by John P. Marenco, MD, of the New England Cardiac Arrhythmia Center in the Division of Cardiology at the New England Medical Center in Boston, evaluated 101 articles on the use of AEDs that were published in peer-reviewed journals. Analyzing and combining the data in these studies led the researchers to determine that AEDs are valuable additions to the "chain of survival." However, they noted that "how widespread the availability of the AED should be is unknown and whether AEDs should be placed in shopping malls, convention centers, and large office buildings is largely untested." A study that is jointly funded and sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the American Heart Association should answer some of those questions.

Spending for Health Care Rising Again While Some Insurers Report Increased Profits

US healthcare costs are breaking out of the control mode of the 1990s and may soon be skyrocketing, says David Blumenthal in the second installment of the New England Journal of Medicine’s Health Policy 2001 series (N Engl J Med. 2001;344:766–769). Blumenthal noted that according to the projections of the Health Care Financing Administration, healthcare spending . . . [Full Text of this Article]