Firefighters now have the ability to send an EKG of your heart within seconds of arriving at your location in an emergency.
“Oh, it could save someone’s life. Matter of fact, actually it’ll change their outcome.”
Travis Hollis, the City of Cape Girardeau’s fire chief, is talking about a new feature on their Zoll monitor and defibrillator machines.
“Previously we had to print a strip like this and hand that to the doctor once the patient arrived to the hospital. Now the doctor receives this while we’re still in the patient’s living,” said Hollis. “Every second that the doctor’s not prepared to receive that patient is a time that that heart or that brain is dying.”
Now, firefighters can send patient’s EKG results back to the hospital before an ambulance even arrives if they’re having symptoms of a heart attack.