Dane County tries new app to get CPR for cardiac arrest
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A new smartphone app could shave critical moments off the time it takes to get help for someone in cardiac arrest.
WKOW-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1zJp0Ny ) the Madison Fire Department and Dane County EMS are teaming up with Meriter-Unity Point Health to launch the "Pulsepoint" smartphone app in the Madison area.
At the push of a button, the app alerts people who have CPR training to assist someone who goes into cardiac arrest within a quarter mile of them. It also alerts the 911 center.
The American Heart Association estimates that effective CPR from a bystander, provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest, can double or triple a person's chance of survival.
The Pulsepoint app is free and available for Apple and Android devices.
___
Meriter page on PulsePoint project: http://www.meriter.com/specialty-care/emergency-services/dane-pulsepoint
___
Information from: WKOW-TV, http://www.wkow.com