By Gail A. Tierney,
Public Information Officer

Since 2004, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office has been working toward reaching its goal of having an automated external defibrillator (AED) in every patrol car.

Because deputies frequently are the first responders to calls for service in the community, it seemed like a good idea to equip them with these lifesaving devices and train them on how to use them effectively.

The agency currently has 80 units and at a cost of nearly $1,500 apiece, private donations have played a crucial role in making this goal a reality. Cash donations from clubs, organizations, county offices and individuals throughout the county make up 100 percent of the funding and without them, the Sheriff’s Office could never be this close to reaching its AED goal.

About 37 percent of the agency’s work force carries an AED with them, including road patrol deputies, school resource officers and others. There also are easily accessible units at the Sheriff’s Operations Center in downtown Inverness, the sheriff’s community resource offices, the new Emergency Operations Center in Lecanto, the Citrus County Judicial Center and at the agency’s training headquarters in the Withlacoochee Technical Institute.

Why is early defibrillation so important? Sudden cardiac arrest, commonly known as a massive heart attack, kills more than 365,000 Americans each year, making it the number one health care problem and leading cause of death in the United States.

In SCA, the heart suddenly stops beating normally. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) alone cannot reverse the chaotic cardiac rhythm most often seen in SCA victims. Prompt external defibrillation is the only known effective treatment to halt sudden cardiac arrest.

Early defibrillation means the use of an AED to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm by means of an electric current. What’s more, defibrillation must occur as soon as possible after the onset of SCA.

Portable AEDs are designed to be simple to use, and deputies receive six hours of training every other year on how to use the electronic devices effectively, along with CPR training and general first aid.

That specialized training, added to the availability of the AED units themselves, has paid off for Citrus County citizens struck with SCA. Deputies have had the opportunity to use their AEDs in nine documented cases. Despite the fact that only one of these SCA patients returned to a normal lifestyle, all of them at least were given a fighting chance.

Such was the case in the most recent application of an AED unit.

On Jan. 26, a deputy was flagged down by people trying to help a man who had collapsed outside of a store in Hernando. When he placed the AED on the victim, it automatically advised him to shock. After the first shock, the deputy began CPR until Fire Rescue and EMS arrived on scene. He then assisted firefighters by continuing chest compressions as two more shocks were delivered. The victim was revived and transported; however, he is still experiencing grave difficulties.

Having accessible AEDs in the community and deputies trained in CPR contributes to Citrus County residents having a 36 percent greater chance of surviving SCA than the national average, based on 2008 Nature Coast EMS records.