Community Update

Seattleites can join in a life-saving scavenger hunt.  Players will compete to identify and report the locations of the city of Seattle’s automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs for a cash reward! Prizes range from $50 to $10,000! These electronic, brief-case size devices are designed to allow a bystander to help someone who has collapsed due to a cardiac arrest. AEDs analyze heart rhythm and may provide an electric shock, if necessary, before the arrival of emergency medical providers. Each device has voice and visual prompts that guide bystanders through the steps necessary to help someone with a medical emergency. Cardiac arrests are a leading cause of death in the United States but can be treated if recognized and responded to quickly with an AED.More than 1.2 million AEDs are now in public places in the United States, and about 180,000 more are installed each year. Sometimes bystanders cannot find the nearest AED during a medical emergency.  That’s where the My HeartMap Seattle Challenge comes in.  Game players will assist University of Washington clinicians by reporting the location of AEDs in community settings throughout the city of Seattle.  
Here are basic rules of the game:The contest starts (October 15th) and ends (November 15th).  To register to participate in the contest, go to "http://www.cprnation.org" and follow the link to My HeartMap Seattle Registration. When you locate an AED in the city of Seattle, report a brief description of the AED on the contest website, including the building address for the AED, its location within the building, and whether the device appears to be ready for use.A $10,000 grand prize will be awarded to the individual or team that identifies the most unique AEDs. The grand prize will be “unlocked” when at least one individual or team identifies 500 AEDs or, all contest participants collectively identify 750 AEDs. Twenty $50 prizes are also available. Twenty AEDs, in the city of Seattle, have been pre-selected by the research team as “Golden AEDs.”  These are unmarked. Be the first to submit a report of a “Golden AED” and win $50! You can follow the My HeartMap Seattle Challenge on twitter (@cprnation, #MyHeartMapSeattle) or at cprnation.org. The My HeartMap Seattle Challenge aims to build public awareness about AEDs, which are commonly contained in a clear glass wall box, sometimes by a fire extinguisher. The spot is generally marked with a symbol of an electrical charge passing through a heart shape. “Most people realize that AEDs are simple enough to use,” Nichol said.  “Just follow the voice and other prompts. They are designed to only provide a shock when needed”  An AED is usually activated by opening the lid. It begins with visual, recorded and text instructions for baring the patient’s chest and sticking on the pads.  Then the machine asks everyone to step back while it analyzes the heart rhythm.  It repeats the request to stand clear if it decides to administer a shock.  If the rhythm suddenly normalizes before a shock is delivered, the machine will announce a rhythm change and that no shock will occur.  Most machines also instruct in CPR and coach the timing of compressions and breaths. Funders: FDA, Zoll Medical Inc. Philips Healthcare Inc., Physio-Control. Inc. HeartSine Technologies Inc., Cardiac Science Inc.