Ill. Agency Launches PulsePoint App

July 03--PEORIA -- A new app can help increase the survival rates in cases of sudden cardiac arrest by utilizing smart phones and bystander's help.

On Thursday, Advanced Medical Transport of Central Illinois launched PulsePoint, a free smartphone app that notifies users of those nearby in need of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.

Greg Chance, vice president of strategy at AMT, said sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of premature death in America. In 2015 alone, AMT responded to 213 cardiac arrests in the Peoria area.

He also said the first five minutes after a person experiences sudden cardiac arrest are the most important, which is why bystanders play the biggest role in the patient's chance of survival as they wait for an ambulance to arrive.

According to the American Heart Association, CPR, especially within the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest, can double or triple a person's chance of survival.

With this new app, in the case of a sudden cardiac arrest, any registered user within a quarter-mile of an incident will immediately be notified of the emergency and its location as well as where to find the closest Automated External Defibrillators, he said.

Chance said 665 of the AEDs in the Peoria area were donated by AMT and 335 of those are publicly accessible.

All 335 of these AEDs can be identified on one of the app's maps, said AMT IT Director Keith Ritter.

So if someone who downloaded the app is jogging past a restaurant where an individual is choking, the runner's phone will emit a "ping" sound and a map indicating the exact location of the emergency and nearby AEDs will appear.

This automated response is delivered immediately after the AMT communication center is notified of a cardiac arrest by 911 dispatch, Ritter said.

In a case in which sudden cardiac arrest is recognized, Chance said bystanders should first call 911, begin CPR, then find an AED while they wait for an ambulance to arrive.

He said science is now proving the effectiveness of hands-only CPR.

This move away from mouth-to-mouth rescue "alleviates some aversions," he said.

The app even shows a step-by-step diagram of how to perform CPR, as well as a metronome to assist those administering CPR in delivering chest compressions at the right pace, said Josh Bradshaw, community resource manager at AMT.

He said the PulsePoint also gives users a glimpse into what AMT is doing by showing incidents of medical emergencies around the city without indicating an exact address, unless the user is within a quarter-mile radius of the emergency.

Since the app launched nationally in 2011, Ritter said 3,500 users have been dispatched to 10,000 cardiac arrests nationwide.

In the first day of its Peoria launch, the app had 240 active users, he said. In the next couple of weeks, he hopes to have numbers in the thousands.

Chance said those who do sign up for the app shouldn't worry about liability. If notified of a cardiac arrest, users don't legally have to respond. Under the Good Samaritan Act, those who do choose to respond are not liable for the situation, he said.

"The decision to respond is personal, but (the app) is all about community awareness and overcoming aversion," Chance said.

He urged the community to take the following steps: Learn hands-only CPR, download PulsePoint to a smartphone, and register AEDs with PulsePoint.

"AMT is just a piece to the puzzle in survival of sudden cardiac arrest," Chance said. He said it is the bystanders who have the best chance of improving an individual's chance of living.

Bradshaw said, in addition to free hands-only CPR certification classes offered at the AMT building every Thursday at 5:30 p.m., individuals from AMT will also be at the Peoria riverfront on Monday to educate people about these recent developments in bystander response.

The PulsePoint app can be downloaded at Pulsepoint.org/download or using the App Store or Google Play.

Anna Spoerre can be reached at 686-3196 and aspoerre@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @annaspoerre.

Copyright 2016 - Journal Star, Peoria, Ill.