Defibrillators saving lives at equipped casinos

Michelle Swafford

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003 | 10:52 a.m.

The number of people who survive cardiac arrests in casinos is increasing.

Automatic External Defibrillators, which are battery-operated machines that deliver an electric shock to resuscitate people who have suffered cardiac arrests, are now in use in most Las Vegas Valley casinos and hotels. The defibrillators have verbal prompts that guide the user through the process and enable trained security personnel to shock the cardiac arrest victim before emergency personnel arrive.

The AEDs save time and brain cells, said Jon Graff, safety and health coordinator with American Medical Response in Las Vegas. He spoke Tuesday during the EMS Expo trade show and convention.

The first save using an AED was in July 1997 at the Stardust. After that, AEDs became more popular with gaming operators. They had been hesitant to equip their properties with AEDs because of liability if the victim didn't survive. Legislation was amended in the late 1990s to resolve that.

Today, more than 90 hotels and casinos in Southern Nevada have AEDs on site. McCarran International Airport and most major airlines also have AEDs available for travelers who have heart attacks.

"The hotel/casino is second only to private residences as the most common place for a cardiac arrest," Graff said. "A casino is the mostly likely public area for a cardiac arrest in Las Vegas."

Nearly 60 percent of heart attacks occur in private residences, followed by 17 percent in casinos and hotels, he said.

Graff said there are approximately 700 cardiac arrests in Clark County each year in which the person has a chance of surviving. Nearly 120 are in casinos and hotels.

About 60 percent of the people who have cardiac arrests will survive when an AED is used, Graff said.

People who have cardiac arrests in casinos have an advantage because security guards see the arrest on security cameras and can then use AEDs to resuscitate them, Graff said.

Most casinos and hotels keep AEDs in security booths and security vehicles for cardiac arrests that occur in parking lots.

Boyd Gaming Corp. was the first hotel company and the first casino company to equip its properties with AEDs.

"It's pretty substantial the number of lives we've saved," said Boyd spokesman Rob Stillwell. "We've even had a couple of instances involving employees."

About 20 people in cardiac arrest at Boyd Gaming's properties have been helped with an AED, Stillwell said.

"It was an affordable investment. Why wouldn't we do it?" he asked. "It's those first couple minutes in a cardiac arrest that are so crucial and these properties today are so sprawling."

American Medical Response, which is one of two ambulance companies in Las Vegas, said it has trained nearly 4,000 valley residents on proper use of AEDs this year.