Superyachts do almost everything to ensure the vessel and those on-board are prepared to react in an emergency, they provide extensive safety training and stock state of the art electronics, lifejackets, lifeboats, and much, much more! It seems like superyachts are prepared for anything but there is one piece of safety equipment which is overlooked by the majority of superyacht managers.

When you look at this daunting fact in detail you start to question why. Considering Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the world’s biggest killer and can occur at a moment’s notice affecting anybody of any fitness level and age, you would assume the only known treatment method would be on all vessels. Especially when you are so far from medical help.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE –  AND YOU NEED A DEFIBRILLATOR

It is common sense that the further out to sea you go, the greater the risk should you encounter some form of emergency. If this emergency is somebody suffering from an SCA, time is of the essence and you need to be able to react immediately by starting the chain of survival. Defibrillation is the only way to cure SCA and if defibrillation doesn’t occur within the first 3-5 minutes you can be looking at permanent brain damage. For every minute that goes by, the victim’s chances of survival drop by 10%.

So when SCA strikes on your yacht and you do not have a marine defibrillator what will you do? Will you call for a medevac? Emergency services will do their best but the chance of them reaching you within 10 minutes, even if you are docked, is highly unlikely. This puts your survival rates at almost 0%.

If there is a fatality due to SCA, what words could you possibly find to console the victim’s family, fellow crew members and friends, when you had no equipment to help – because you didn’t have the time, the budget or the knowledge?

MISCONCEPTIONS

Here are some of the misconceptions which we regularly hear about why people choose not to stock AED’s onboard superyachts.

1. AEDs won’t work onboard vessels due to the motion – This is not true with the Lifeforce AED as our AED is military tested for the marine environment.
2. AED’s are too expensive – They’re relatively affordable compared to the other costs associated with running a boat, plus it takes the worry out of the health and safety procedures you have.
3. You need training to use an AED – Training is recommended so people feel comfortable with the device but it isn’t essential. Our Lifeforce AED is the simplest on the market and provides verbal instruction for how to use so even somebody without training could use it.
4. When should you use an AED and what if it’s used when it shouldn’t be? – In the case of somebody collapsing and you cannot find a pulse you should immediately initiate defibrillation, for added peace of mind the AED will automatically analyse the patient’s vital signs and it will ONLY deliver a shock if required.

With over 17.3 million deaths per year, SCA is the world’s biggest killer and this needs to change. The way we can prevent this amount of deaths is by ensuring that all of the places where we spend our time are all protected with the correct equipment to help victims survive.

If you are interested in finding out more about our Marine Lifeforce AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) contact one of our knowledgeable staff who can help you find the best AED package for your yacht and answer any questions you may have.