Accidents. Resuscitation. AED. Should AED be mandatory on diving boats?

[TMHeimer]

I think that any boat carrying divers or passengers that are paying for the trip should have an AED on board.

If the boat does not have one, it makes me wonder how much they care about me.

If the boat operators cannot afford an AED, it makes me wonder if they are skimping on maintenance of the boat and dive gear to save money.

The question asks if should be mandatory--ie. a law. I surmise you support making it a law?

 

[Edward3c]

Deleted. Inaccurate information.

 

[GJC]

The question asks if should be mandatory--ie. a law. I surmise you support making it a law?

Mandatory, yes. Law, not neccessarily. Maybe an industry standard.

Maybe just advertising whether an AED will be on the boat or not (as they advertise O2, tank refills and snacks) so I can decide which boats I will use and which I will not.

 

[SapphireMind]

I don't think it's a terrible idea, but I also don't think it will impact fatalities much. AEDs help with a cardiac-based cause of collapse, but when it is a cessation of heartrate because of a lack of oxygen/ventilation, it won't really help, only establishing breathing will, and the HR typically comes back naturally with that.

I work with babies and their causes of cardiac arrest are almost always respiratory in nature, so I can count on one hand the number of babies I've seen needing defibrillation, additionally, unlike what they show in TV shows, defib will not restart a heart. Epinephrine will.

Since many causes of cardiac arrest in diving I think are respiratory in etiology, I wouldn't think it would make a huge difference. Additionally, the time it's going to take to get to an advanced care facility, if your primary pathology is cardiac, is going to be pretty prohibitive. It's unfortunate, but if you have a serious arrhythmia somewhere far from advanced medical care, your outcome is unlikely to be good.

 

[BlueTrin]

From an economist point of view, it’s one of these things people could be globally better off if it was mandatory but unlikely to happen without regulation or marketing/education.

It’s hard to tell without looking at the figures: i.e. number of lifes saved if every boat was carrying an AED vs cost of doing so.

Before to decide whether it is worth it, one has to determine what is the next most efficient use of money: if AED wouldn’t make enough of a difference there may be something the same cost or cheaper which would save even more lifes.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Dan stats show that with the aging diving population cardiac issues are and increasing cause of death so yes AED's should be on dive boats. Never had a boat tell me they had one but never had a boat that wasn't thrilled to let me bring mind onboard and stow it safely.

Only had to use it once dive related but that is a different thread....

 

[dlofting]

The success rate of 30% for AED use in the BSAC report is higher than the rate in the general population. I can't recall the exact rate we were told in our most recent WFR course but it was less than 10%. I'm wondering why that is.

 

[Protondecay123]

I don't think it's a terrible idea, but I also don't think it will impact fatalities much. AEDs help with a cardiac-based cause of collapse, but when it is a cessation of heartrate because of a lack of oxygen/ventilation, it won't really help, only establishing breathing will, and the HR typically comes back naturally with that.

I work with babies and their causes of cardiac arrest are almost always respiratory in nature, so I can count on one hand the number of babies I've seen needing defibrillation, additionally, unlike what they show in TV shows, defib will not restart a heart. Epinephrine will.

Since many causes of cardiac arrest in diving I think are respiratory in etiology, I wouldn't think it would make a huge difference. Additionally, the time it's going to take to get to an advanced care facility, if your primary pathology is cardiac, is going to be pretty prohibitive. It's unfortunate, but if you have a serious arrhythmia somewhere far from advanced medical care, your outcome is unlikely to be good.

Well your points beg the question of "If only one life is saved with the AED, wasn't it worth the expense and effort?"

 

[ChuckP]

You're taught to use them in CPR class for SSI and it's a Dive Master pre req.

We had a kid where I live that had a un diagnosed heart condition, made gaming winning shot and went down, didn't make it. His parents are adamant AED supporters and lead a local group that gets them in all high schools and at athletic events.

Just like O2, not a bad thing to have on the boat.

 

[tursiops]

Since many causes of cardiac arrest in diving I think are respiratory in etiology, I wouldn't think it would make a huge difference.

I'm not sure the evidence supports your assumption.