Real customer story: How a newly purchased defibrillator saved a stranger’s life

When we hear about the use of a defibrillator, its usually a community or workplace defibrillator that’s used to save someone nearby. However, it’s common for individuals to buy them for peace of mind and to protect family members.

Recently, one of our Defib4Life customers shared an incredible story about how a defibrillator purchased for family safety ended up being used to help save the life of a stranger within hours of setting it up.

Real life use case highlights the importance of an accessible defibrillator

The customer’s son is a second-year paramedic but his partner lives with heart failure and is currently awaiting a heart transplant.

The weekend before the defibrillator was purchased, his partner experienced an exacerbation of his condition in the early hours of the morning. During the 999 call, the customer’s son was asked if he’d be able to access a defibrillator, but he wasn’t able to do this easily. He would have had to leave his partner during a period of difficulty breathing and a heart rate of 160bpm.

Once paramedics arrived on the scene, the partner was transported to hospital for further treatment, but the experience left a lasting impact on the family.

What if the situation had been worse without a defibrillator nearby?

What if a defibrillator was easily accessible?

Just buy a defibrillator

The customer was discussing the incident with a friend who is a doctor while on holiday. He said, ‘just buy a defibrillator and then he’ll have one to hand’.

Once back from holiday, that’s exactly what she did! She purchased a defibrillator from Defib4Life to be stored at her son’s house and they set it up in their house. The family decided that life is too short to delay a decision like this.

As a student paramedic and a third-year nursing student, both partners were already familiar with how defibrillators work but, like most people who own one, they hoped they would never actually need to use it.

A GoodSAM alert

The same evening after the defibrillator had been set up at their house, the son received a notification from the GoodSAM responder app.

GoodSAM alerts trained responders when someone experiences a suspected cardiac arrest nearby, allowing volunteers and off-duty professionals to reach the scene quickly and start life-saving treatment (CPR and use of a defibrillator) before the ambulance service arrives.

The suspected cardiac arrest had occurred on a bus stopped near his house and, without hesitation, he grabbed the defibrillator and ran to the location, with his partner following on foot.

Once they reached the bus, they found a man who had collapsed and gone into cardiac arrest. Another passenger was trying to give very light CPR with one hand, and another was fanning the patient with a copy of the Bible!

The son’s training kicked in and he was able to prepare the defibrillator and both the son, and his partner were able to share the load of CPR while helping to evacuate the rest of the passengers from the bus to provide space to treat the patient.

Despite being a second-year paramedic, the customer’s son hadn’t performed CPR on anything other than a dummy and had never administered a shock using a defibrillator.

The ambulance service arrived on the scene and the patient was transported to hospital, but the CPR and defibrillation he received would have increased his chances of survival. If the son hadn’t been nearby at the time or had a defibrillator that was easily accessible, the outcome could have been very different.

Mum…you know that defib you bought…?

An hour after the incident had occurred, the first person he called was his mum saying ‘mum, you know you bought that defib..’.

The defibrillator purchased just days before, intended to provide peace of mind and protection for a loved one at home, had already been used to help save a stranger’s life.

The customer has now received replacement pads for the defibrillator so it continues to be rescue ready and could help the son’s partner if his condition worsens.

Why accessible defibrillators save lives

Sudden cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, at any time, to anyone.

Without treatment, the patient can lose consciousness within seconds and survival heavily depends on how quickly CPR to maintain circulation and defibrillator to restore a normal heart rhythm is provided.

For every minute without defibrillation, the chances of survival decrease by around 10%. Having defibrillators that are readily accessible and rescue ready in homes, workplaces and communities is so important.

In this story, the presence of a nearby defibrillator meant that treatment could begin immediately, without waiting for emergency services to arrive.

Why a portable AED is the perfect solution 

This customer purchased a Philips HeartStart HS1 defibrillator from Defib4Life following an emergency involving her son’s partner just days earlier, prioritising a device that was available for immediate, same day dispatch. In this case, having a quick access to a defibrillator proved critical.

Experiences like this highlight the importance of not only having a defibrillator but also how and where it will be used. While standard AEDs like the one used here are well suited to fixed locations such as homes and workplaces, there are also personal use devices designed with portability in mind.

If you want to be prepared while travelling or away from a fixed location, compact defibrillators such as the HeartHero Elliot Fully Automatic Defibrillator offer a lightweight, easy to carry option. These devices are designed to fit into a rucksack or car glove compartment and is the perfect AED to empower everyday heroes.

An important reminder of how essential defibrillators are

This story is all about a family who bought a defibrillator to protect a family member but, within hours of the defibrillator arriving, it became a live-saving piece of equipment for a stranger.

We were so pleased to hear from this customer and her story is a reminder that cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, to anyone. And, when it does happen, having a defibrillator nearby can make a huge difference. This is exactly why we do what we do.

At Defib4Life, we’re proud that one of our defibrillators was used in an emergency, giving someone the chance to act when every second counts.

If you’d like advice or guidance on choosing the right defibrillator for your needs, please contact our expert customer service team.