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A new study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and Philips Medical Systems will provide valuable insight into whether an AED in the home will help heart attack survivors live longer and more productive lives. The Home Use AED Trial (HAT) is recruiting 7,000 people with a history of myocardial infarction who are at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
"Our trial is designed to be a definitive study," principal investigator Dr. Gust H. Bardy told NHW.
There are two basic treatment groups in HAT, according to Dr. Bardy, who is a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle and director of the Seattle Institute for Cardiac Research.
"We are randomizing spouses of moderate-risk patients to either shock first and then call 911, or to call 911 and then do CPR in the case of sudden cardiac arrest. Our hypothesis is that using a home AED will cut the death rate by 25 percent."
Previous research suggests that half of all deaths occuring during the five-year study will be caused by cardiac arrest, and the other half will be due to conditions not treatable with a defibrillator. Researchers hope prompt defibrillation will save the lives of at least half of those who suffer cardiac arrest.
"In 2003, we like to make our decisions for the public based upon hard numbers. That is why we have undertaken a long-term $30 million survival study," explains Dr. Bardy.
"I am very strongly in favor of people being able to purchase a home defibrillator for their personal safety," he continues. "The devices are well designed, easy to use, safe, and they might save a life. My intuition strongly favors AEDs everywhere. My scientist's hat says, 'Prove it.'"
Patients are being recruited at 200 hospitals in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Cardiologist William Groh, an associate professor of medicine, is the HAT site coordinator at the Indiana University School of Medicine. For more information and to enroll in the study, call 866-500-4HAT or visit www.sicr.org.
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