HARRISONVILLE, Mo. — Each year in the United States, 350,000 people go into cardiac arrest outside of the hospital. According to the American Heart Association, 90 percent of those people die.
Harrisonville Emergency Services now has a device that's improving their chances of survival.
The Lucas 3 is an automated chest compression device. In 10 seconds or less, it can be snapped into place to perform CPR on a patient.
"It was very simple and easy to set up. We get it on the patient really fast, and it frees up so many hands and actually does a really good job of doing really good, effective CPR," Harrisonville Fire Chief Eric Myler said.
The device allows first responders to give chest compressions while on the move and while taking other lifesaving measures. It performs 30 compressions and then takes a two-second pause before continuing.
Myler said manual chest compressions work, but they can become less effective over time.
"A lot of people don't realize that they get tired really quick when they're doing these manually," Myler said.
This year, Harrisonville Emergency Services budgeted for two of the devices, each costing around $15,000. First responders have used them in four emergency situations since receiving them in April.
Myler said he was impressed with the patients' responses while receiving CPR.
"We've had people that have actually started to breathe on their own," Myler said.
The devices have been around for years, but after updates, they're now smaller, lighter and easier to use.
