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.

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Meriter page on PulsePoint project: http://www.meriter.com/specialty-care/emergency-services/dane-pulsepoint

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Information from: WKOW-TV, http://www.wkow.com