Coffee shops and ATMs could play a major role in helping reduce deaths caused by out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, researchers say.
Researchers published a list of businesses and municipal locations that are within 100 meters (328 feet) of areas where large numbers of cardiac arrests have been reported.
The list was compiled based on geographical proximity as well as hours of operation of nearby businesses. Many businesses may already have AEDs, but as study co-author Timothy Chan, a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at the University of Toronto, puts it, "if that location was closed, it is as if the AED wasn't even there."
"That's the problem," said Dr. Richard Page, chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, who provided editorial remarks for the study. "We don't know where the AED might be. Just think, if every Starbucks or Bank of America ATM had an AED and was known for this, then there would be an AED nearby many (cardiac) arrests, and the rescuers would know where to find it."
Read more about this study in the full article on CNN.com.
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