Rating:  - Compact, Easy-to-Use Life-Saver
The Philips AED is a compact, easy-to-carry unit that demands little of the user. I bought one for home use, and donated another to Planes of Fame air museum, where I work as a volunteer. The device prompts every step, has pictographs showing proper placement or technique, and performs its own diagnostics automatically. It is a simple, effective piece of equipment that can save lives.
Rating:  - Good Idea
I know from personal experience if your gut is telling you to get one and you don't do it...I won't go into all the emotional part of my story ... But about 8 years ago, I thought about getting one of these but never did. Later in June of that year my father who was staying with me had heart failure. I knew CPR and started it right away, so when EMS got here about 12 minutes later they were able to use their defibrillator right away... without success. Had I had this defibrillator then, would it have saved my fathers life? I don't know for sure, but I sure wish I had had it then!!!!!!! So I'll just say IF you hear that inner voice telling you to get one...seriously consider it! If you do get one show everyone in the family how to use it, do a periodic refresher with your family, and keep it in a place where everyone knows where it is. Now I have one, to late for my dad, but there are others I need to look out for as well. I also would like to suggest that you contact your local hospital and take CPR and Heimlich courses and whatever else they offer! It's also a good idea to have a large emergency first aid kit, one that you may need to make up yourself...ask your doctor or nurse what to include...I have a couple large bottles of hydrogen peroxide, Iodine, eye wash, items for burns, etc. plus the normal items... rolls of bandage, tape, scissors, etc.. Try to cover all the common emergencies you can think of... just be sure to put it in a place a person can get to it quickly! If someone is bleeding heavily or has an eye injury, it's no time to have to try to locate the emergency kit!!! We keep ours in a 1st floor bathroom and we never put anything on top of it, so it can be found with our eyes closed, we also keep one in each vehicle. Back to this defibrillator, I have a nurse friend who told me it looked just like the one they have at the hospital. Also my family, who have no medical training, found the training DVD simple to understand. And this defibrillator will give you voice commands for the step by step procedure when activated. I have never had to use this on anyone, so I can not give you any report on my experience with this product in it's actual use. If you get one I hope you never have to use it, If you don't get one I sincerely hope you will never deeply regret that choice.
A short video of this product in use http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7331981255773156184&q=Phillips+HeartStart+defibrillator&ei=sA6MSM_DLqOm4QLZyuGOCA&hl=en
Rating: - No panacea, but it does raise survival rate.
I've deducted a star only for the still expensive price.
As a volunteer EMT-B, I won't quibble with the general ineffectiveness of CPR by itself (without immediate defibrillation) cited by the one star reviewer. But this reviewer citing the New England Journal of Medicine HAT study (April 2008) with regard to this product is a little silly. If you're concerned about overall health policy or making a substantial dent in the enormous epidemic of sudden cardiac death in this country, putting AEDs only in the homes of those who had a myocardial infarction but subsequently been deemed healthy enough not to get an implantable defibrillator (essentially the study sample) would perhaps not give you the biggest bang for your (or your government's) buck. If, on the other hand, you or a loved one does not have an implanted defibrillator and you believe yourself or a loved one to be at risk for sudden cardiac death, because of family history and age, etc., surely it can be acknowledged that having a device like this on hand (yes, if you can personally afford it) would add to one's peace of mind. Here's the key fact in the HAT study, mentioned even in the NEJM editorial that accompanies the HAT study (which in some ways had a problematic sample): The AED was used in 29 unresponsive patients, a shock was advised and delivered in 14 patients, and "only" 4 of whom were long-term survivors. The simple math here is an almost 14% survival rate. That's well above the 1, 2, or even 5% survival rates reported without an AED. That's the families/loved ones/care providers of 29 sudden cardiac arrest victims who don't have to wonder if an AED would have made a difference (since clearly they do in a substantial percentage of cases). Think it was worth it to any of the 4 folks for whom this device defibrillated their heart rhythm? Think those at NBC and Tim Russert's family would have rather had an AED on hand on Friday at the studio rather than having to wait for DC EMS to arrive to attempt defibrillation? When something as shocking and tragic as a sudden cardiac arrest happens to you or someone you care about, you ideally want to know that you (or someone) have done everything that could have been done. While eventual death is a certainty for all of us, and we cannot be held accountable for what we do not know and for controlling all circumstances and we can't have an ambulance follow us around every minute of our lives, if you are unable to say that a defibrillation was attempted with a device capable of doing so within three minutes of collapse, you can't know everything was done that could have been done as an AED clearly raises survival rates substantially over CPR alone, even in such a small sample (and in many ways severely problematic sample) as provided by the HAT study in the NEJM. Other studies have shown a far greater impact of essentially the same device when it is installed in airports and other public places. AEDs are the first things to come along to actually help with survival rates in a response/rescue situation. Weigh the price point, certainly, but know that AEDs like this one have saved many lives that otherwise would not have been saved. If price weren't a factor, these should be in every home. Hopefully, some day they'll be as common and affordable as fire extinguishers.
Rating: - I have personally used one!
This is probably the only review of using this product on an actual patient. I'm an Advanced EMT, and work at a couple different places. One of them is a casino, and I provide basic life support first-response there. We purchased this defibrillator for the reviews, and the price. I got a call for a guy that wasn't feeling well, so I headed over. Right when I got there, he lurched up, and slumped over. I checked for a pulse, and found none, so I started CPR and hooked up this machine. It advised a shock... zapped him once, and got a pulse back. By the time the ambulance arrived he was conscious and alert.
The machine was very easy to use, very straight forward. The spoken directions were very clear and calm. It helped a lot to have something so calm during such a chaotic time.
Now for having one in your house: if you've got the money, go for it. I don't feel it's as essential as a fire extinguisher or seat belts, but it couldn't hurt. It'll provide a safe sound of mind. I doubt you'll ever use it, but it's still a nice thing to have.
Rating:  - Defibrillator's vastly overrated
I've written reviews of this product twice, and twice Amazon has removed them. I'll try again. It is important that the facts about cardioresuscitation be known and not censored.
The current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reports what is well know among experts: that the effectiveness of defibrillators has long been overstated. The new NEJM study finds that people with home defibrillators are no more likely to survive sudden heart seizures than people without defibrillators. The Phillips HeartStart Home Defibrillator was the device used in the study. The study authors conclude that trying to put defibrillators into homes is "inefficient strategy in public health terms"
A forthright article in the journal Clinical Cardiology (Vol. 23 (Suppl. II), II-6 II-16 (2000)), titled "Medical Futility," explains the strikingly limited value of CPR even in the most ideal circumstances. The best medical knowledge shows that defibrillators have very limited value in the best of circumstances, and no demonstrated value for consumers.
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