Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) occurs when the heart stops beating. - This constitutes clinical death and CAN be reversed.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, as many as 45,000 Canadians experience a sudden cardiac arrest each year.

This equates to one clinical death every 12 minutes in Canada, the majority of which occur outside of hospital.

Early access to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation (within 1-3 minutes) is vital. These actions may increase the chance of survival by 75% or more. (1)

An AED, or automated external defibrillator, is used to help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). It's a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use device that can analyze the heart's rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock (defibrillation) to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm.

Bystanders need not worry about "accidentally" delivering a shock to a person's heart. - If a shock is not indicated, energy will not be delivered, even if the shock button is pushed. 

Canada-wide, anyone and everyone is encouraged to utilize an AED during the treatment of suspected cardiac arrest. - Formal certification is NOT legally required to use an AED in Canada.

Meanwhile, AED users are strongly encouraged to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) & AED training as CPR is used in conjunction with an AED to increase survivability. (2)

With training, comes the confidence and empowerment to save a life.

Details: https://lifeshield.ca/onsite-courses/

In short, whilst in cardiac arrest, the human brain dies faster than Fire and EMS personnel can reasonably respond. 

For every one minute delay in defibrillation, the survival rate of a cardiac arrest victim decreases by 7%  to 10%.  Cardiac arrest which persists for more than 12 minutes, carries a survival rate less than 5%. (3)

A landmark study of the City of Chicago airports public access to AED program showed survival rates as high as 75%. This success is directly related to highly visible, readily accessible automated external defibrillators for public use and an integrated structured emergency response system. (4)

In Canada, Health Care is a provincial responsibility. - As such, the Provinces/Territories are autonomous to create their own legislation regarding Public Access AEDs.

As of January 2021, Manitoba remains the ONLY Canadian province to REQUIRE the placement of AEDs in certain public buildings.

Thankfully, there are an increasing number of smaller authorities (both public and private stakeholders) with internal policies requiring AEDs.

Of interest, the Province of Nova Scotia currently has a private member's bill before the legislature which, if passed, will require wide spread placement of AEDs throughout Nova Scotia.

Yes.

In October 2019, Bill 215 was introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Nova Scotia (Argyle–Barrington) MLA Colton Leblanc.

Bill 215 passed its first reading shortly before COVID19 prorogued the legislature. - A second reading / debate is anticipated in 2021. 

Bill 215 proposes regulation-making authority that all buildings having an approved occupancy of 100 or more persons have an accessible automated external defibrillator in the building.

Managed by Emergency Health Services Nova Scotia (EHS NS), the core function of the registry is to help improve sudden cardiac arrest survival rates by rapidly linking AEDs, AED responders and sudden cardiac arrest patients. 

The registry works with members of the general public to help register publicly accessible and private AEDs to create a database that will notify volunteer responders when an AED is needed during an emergency. 

The registry is integrated with the EHS Medical Communication Centre (MCC) and, if all conditions are met, 911 call takers will advise the 911 caller of any nearby AED during a cardiac emergency. 

The registry will also send AED inspectors maintenance and expiry notifications, ensuring that their device is always maintained and up-to-date.

Details: https://savelivesns.ca

Yes. 

LifeShield is proud to offer a plethora of industry-leading Philips AEDs and AED accessories. 

Details: https://lifeshield.ca/products/

We take care of it all, at no additional cost!

All AED's purchased through LifeShield result in the following services:

- Your AED will be logged in LifeShield's AED Management System (AMS). Our system will provide email notifications with respect to:

     - Pending pad expiry / resupply mechanism (2 yrs for our Philips pads)
     - Pending battery expiry / resupply mechanism (4 yrs for our Philips batteries)
     - Pending First Aid & CPR/AED certification expiry (if applicable) / recertification mechanism 

-LifeShield will act as a liaison between the purchaser and Emergency Health Services NS, to ensure that your AED is also entered into the Nova Scotia AED Registry Program. With your permission, this will enable deployment of your AED (through 911) in the event of a suspected cardiac arrest occurring in close proximity (ex: 911 report of a cardiac arrest in a neighbouring business). Registration will also enable redundant reminder of inspection cycles, as well as pending expiry of consumables such as pads and batteries. 

Yes. 

All of our Canadian Red Cross First Aid & CPR programs include training and certification in the use of an AED.

Details: https://lifeshield.ca/onsite-courses/

We do!

Anyone who has previously received First Aid & CPR/AED training through LifeShield is privy to a 10% discount on all of our AEDs and AED accessories. 

Absolutely!

All those who purchase an AED through LifeShield will be provided with a 10% discount on their next scheduled group training session (up to 18 persons).