Defibrillators network in Vienna

Only ten out of 100 people in Vienna survive a sudden cardiac arrest outside a hospital. The association “Puls” wants to establish a dense network of defibrillators in the city and thus increase the survival rate.

Only eleven percent of the people, who suffer a cardiac arrest outside a hospital, survive this. In contrast, there is a survival rate of 30.7 percent in Rotterdam (Netherlands).

A dense network of publicly available defibrillators shall help to increase the survival rate in Vienna. The association tries to install as many defibrillators as possible in bars and restaurants in Vienna.

The operators of Schweizerhaus in Prater got a defibrillator five years ago. “They were able to rescue two lives, once in the restaurant and once in front of the restaurant”, Hanni Kolarik said.

Harry Kopietz, president of “Puls”, presented the new campaign in Ms Kolarik’s restaurant. “Puls will try and convince Viennese gastronomy businesses that a defibrillator is useful”, Mr Kopietz said.

The association will also organise courses for dealing with the device and life-saving immediate measures such as a cardiac massage. The goal of the association is to secure an extensive availability of defibrillators for lay people in Vienna.

“If a defibrillator is used on a patient in the first three minutes, the probability of survival increases significantly”, stated Mario Krammel, managing president of Puls.

Billboards of Gewista (Austria’s leading outdoor advertising company) will be adapted in the course of the year.

Moreover, 1,000 public defibrillators will be installed in strongly frequented places in Vienna. The devices are equipped with a GPS transmitter and automatically connect with the ambulance centre.