A recent story in the Sun Sentinel addressed the lack of Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) in public places, specifically in health clubs.

External de-what? For those of you not up on the latest technology in emergency medical science, an Automatic External Defibrillators is a simple yet effective device used to deliver an electric shock to the heart (defibrillation ) of a victim of sudden cardiac arrest ( SCA ).

Over 350,000 people die from SCA each year, often because CPR alone is often not effective and lifesaving defibrillation does not reach these victims in time.

Each minute of delay decreases a SCA victims chances by 10 %. After only 10 minutes 90% of victims will die if they have not been defibrillated.

The unit is easy to use and actually verbally guides you through the entire process. It is this ease of use that has enabled passengers travelling through O’Hare airport in Chicago, to save victims of SCA.

In the same article, it states that an average health club with a member base of approximately 3,000 members (MBS has 3,500+) can expect an average of one to two heart attacks per year!

Fortunately in the past 12 years since we have been in business, we haven’t had a single incident, even though the statistics state other wise. This is partly due to the medical screening for all our new members and partly due to our qualified floor trainers, aerobics instructors, and personal trainers who are trained to recognize warning signs and act accordingly (and also partly due to a bit of good luck, even professional athletes get heart attacks).

While the American Council on Exercise has not yet taken the position that all health clubs should have one, we felt it was clearly something that would be standard in the future. We felt once we were presented with the information about the device that it should be installed immediately.