New app turns bystanders into potential lifesavers

Rob Macdonald wouldn't have been alive todayif it wasn't for chance.

On Jan.17, the 49-year-old father of threewent into cardiac arrestin a dressing room at Pitt Meadows Arenaafter a hockey game.

His teammates called 911, but none of them recognized the signs of cardiac arrest nor did they know how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), an emergency procedure that useschest compressions tomimic a heartbeat.

It just happened that a player from the opposing team was walking by and alerted his teammate, Bruce Moffat.

Moffat, a critical care flight paramedic with 35 years experience, sprung into actionuntil first responders arrived 13 minutes later.

Without immediate help, brain damage startswithin 3 minutes of cardiac arrest.

"I could've been in the dressing room right next door and he would've passed away," said Moffat.

Now, a newsmartphone app calledPulsePointaims to prevent missed lifesaving opportunities by alerting users when somebody is in cardiac arrest in a public place nearby.

"It can turn every one of us from a bystander to a potential life saver,"said LindaLuipini, executive vice-president ofProvincial Health Services Authorityand B.C.EmergencyHealth Services.

The survival rate for cardiac arrest patients is about 10 per cent in the province, saysLuipini.

Shesaid that even an untrained bystander stepping in to perform CPR can significantlyincrease avictim'schanceof recovery.

"Anything you do at all, in terms of chest compressions... is better than doing nothing."

"You can double or triple somebody's chances by just doing some chest compressions to get some oxygenated blood through their system," she said.

"When someone experiences sudden cardiac arrest and a 911 call is made to us, trained bystanders with PulsePointwill be alerted and will be able to spring into action. They can provide CPR while paramedics and our first responders are on the way," Luipiniexplained.

The app will notify bystanders whoare within walking distance of the victim of asudden cardiac arrest, abouta400-metreradius.

The app does not keep records on who gets the alerts or responds to them and it only reports events occurring in public places.

Luipini said that under the Good Samaritan act, civilians cannot be held liable for any additional harm if they do step in to help.

Emergencyservicessays thesmartphonealert could also save lives by showing users a map pinpointing the location of nearby portable public defibrillators.The app also has CPR how-to and a compression rate beat for users to follow along.

B.C. is the first in Canada to offerthe programprovince-wide.

Macdonald's wife, Kristie,said they're forever grateful to Moffat for saving her husband's life.

"We could never repay him. So we hope that we can pay it forward by improving the rate thatpeopletake CPR and do bystander CPR in the community," she said.

Last year, paramedics responded to 7,101 cardiac arrests. Bystanders performed CPR in approximately 25 per cent ofthosecases.