VANCOUVER – A new smartphone app is set to turn B.C. bystanders into potential life-savers when a sudden cardiac arrest occurs in a public place.
BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) launched the
free PulsePoint application today throughout the province. It provides vital information in the case of cardiac arrest, where minutes count in reducing suffering and preventing death.
Smartphone users with Pulsepoint are connected to the BCEHS emergency dispatch system. When a sudden cardiac arrest is reported at a public location through 9-1-1, dispatchers can send the location to people with mobile devices located within short walking distance. A user with training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can then quickly go to the patient and begin CPR while paramedics are en route.
The smartphone alert also shows users a map pinpointing the location of nearby portable public defibrillators, which are another important tool which the general public can use safely before paramedics arrive.
British Columbia is the first to have a province-wide program for this public notification service. Pulsepoint currently operates in an Ontario municipality and in a number of US counties and cities.
- Sudden cardiac arrest occurs without notice and leaves patients unconscious. Without immediate help, a victim of sudden cardiac arrest will suffer brain damage within three minutes.
- In 2017, BCEHS paramedics responded to 7,101 cardiac arrest events.
- Bystanders performed CPR in approximately 25 per cent of these cases.
- The survival rate beyond 30 days for sudden cardiac arrest in BC is approximately 10 per cent.
- A UK study published in the journal Resuscitation found that the PulsePoint App, as compared to phone texting systems, was highly efficient in the recruitment of first responders, significantly reducing the time to the initiation of CPR, thus increasing survival rates.
- The effectiveness of Pulsepoint will be studied in BC and other parts of Canada and the US to determine whether the app increases public participation in cardiac arrest resuscitation. BC is expected to take part in this randomized, controlled research trial starting in 2018.
Adrian Dix, Minister of Health –
“Rollout of this application province-wide is an excellent example of our health care professionals innovating to improve care for British Columbians. Research has shown that receiving CPR quickly after a sudden cardiac arrest doubles chances of survival. Bystanders using PulsePoint and CPR, along with BCEHS staff, can now have an even greater impact on saving lives.”
Linda Lupini, BCEHS/PHSA Executive Vice President –
“This app essentially crowdsources CPR so that the closest available person trained in this life-saving skill gets to the person suffering a cardiac arrest. At BC Emergency Health Services, our paramedics and dispatch staff have long recognized the critical role of bystander CPR. This technology will take us one step further in maximizing our efforts.”
Gillian Wong, Heart and Stroke Foundation –
“If you can’t get to a CPR course immediately, you can still give someone their best chance of surviving a cardiac arrest by doing three simple steps: Call 9-1-1 and shout for an AED; Push hard and fast in the centre of the chest; and Use an AED as soon as it arrives.”
BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) is responsible for the delivery and governance of pre-hospital emergency medical care and inter-facility patient transfer services through the BC Ambulance Service and the BC Patient Transfer Network. BCEHS is supported by the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). For more information, please visit www.bcehs.ca or follow us on Twitter @BC_EHS.
The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) plans, manages and evaluates selected specialty and province-wide health care services across BC, working with the five geographic health authorities to deliver province-wide solutions that improve the health of British Columbians. For more information, visit www.phsa.ca or follow us on Twitter @PHSAofBC.
About Heart & Stroke Foundation: Life - we don’t want you to miss it. That’s why Heart & Stroke leads the fight against heart disease and stroke. Over the last 60 years, we have invested more than $1.45 billion in heart and stroke research, making us the largest contributor in Canada after the federal government. In that time, the death rate from heart disease and stroke has declined by more than 75 per cent. Online: www.heartandstroke.ca
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A Frequently Asked Questions backgrounder is available.
Visit the BCEHS Pulsepoint web page at:
Fatima Siddiqui
BC Emergency Health Services
Media Line: 778-867-7472
Jennifer Randall Nelson
BC & Yukon, Heart and Stroke
