Welcome to DDI Safety’s
Ultimate Defibrillator Guide

22 Thousand lives could be saved
in Australia each year if Defibrillator access
was more common. We’ve made this
ultimate guide to help you learn more
about these life saving devices and
make finding the right one easy.

A Defibrillator is a life-saving medical device. They are often called AED’s (Automated External Defibrillators.) The Defibrillators used at workplaces and in the community are portable, battery-powered, low-maintenance devices that are designed to be simple to use in case of an emergency. They are designed for anyone to be able to use, they have inbuilt speakers that tell you what to do. Defibrillators are used to treat a condition known as “Cardiac Arrest”.

What is a cardiac arrest?

Your heart’s rate and rhythm are controlled by electrical signals. When these electrical signals malfunction, the heart enters what is called ventricular fibrillation. Basically, it starts to quiver and is unable to function properly. The lack of a proper heartbeat causes a person to become unconscious and stop breathing.

What causes a cardiac arrest? Many people have a genetic condition called SCA. (Sudden Cardiac Arrest) This genetic issue can cause someone to have a cardiac arrest at any time, no matter what their age or health. Heart problems, serious trauma from an accident, drowning and breathing problems, and electrical shock can also cause someone to have a cardiac arrest.

How do Defibrillators help?

A defibrillator is used to provide a controlled electrical shock to the heart. When a heart is “quivering” this controlled shock can cause the heart to reset itself and start pumping normally.

How do I know when to shock someone?

Defibrillators can detect a person’s heart rhythm. They determine when to shock. If they detect a normal heart rhythm or no heart activity at all they won’t shock someone. They do all the hard work, so we don’t need to worry about the results.

If you’d like to learn more about when an AED will give a shock you can read our post “Will a Defibrillator Shock a beating heart?”

Why are Defibrillators important?

We’ve already established that AED’s save lives. But just how many lives? Each year, between 20-30,000 people in Australia have a cardiac arrest out of the hospital. Only around 8 percent will survive. Each minute someone has to receive Defibrillation their chance of survival drops. Often, by the time an ambulance arrives, it is too late to revive a person. If everyone had access to a Defibrillator within 3 minutes, studies say that 70-80% of people could be saved. That could mean 22,000 lives saved yearly as opposed to the two thousand.

Am I legally required to have a Defibrillator at my Workplace?

While Australia doesn’t have laws that force us to purchase Defibrillators, in many states and situations we are legally bound to consider purchasing an AED. Consider a few examples:

QLD’s code of practice: Defibrillators. “you should consider whether other first aid equipment is necessary to treat the injuries or illnesses that could occur as a result of a hazard at your workplace.”

NSW’s code of practice: You should consider providing an AED if there is a risk to workers at your workplace from electrocution, if there would be a delay in ambulance services arriving at the workplace, or where there are large numbers of members of the public.

What has moved some of our customers to purchase AED’s? Some have employees who have a family history of sudden cardiac arrest and have purchased an AED to lower risk of a fatal accident. Others have staff that work on sites where ambulance times are longer than normal due to a remote location. In many cases, purchasing an AED could reduce your liability.

Even if you are not legally required to get one, it is well worth it. Such a small yearly cost to your business could mean save a life.

Does it matter what Defibrillator I get?

It does. While all AED’s have the same basic function, there are a variety of extra features and options that can make them even more helpful in emergencies. At DDI Safety we’ve made sure we only sell high-quality, easy-to-maintain Heartsine and Lifepak Defibrillators.

We’ve made a helpful tool that can help you find the right Defibrillator by answering a few simple questions. Access it here or keep reading to learn more.

Defibrillator Types

When looking at Defibrillators, you will often see that some Defibrillators are called “AUTOMATIC DEFIBRILLATORS” and some are called “SEMI-AUTOMATIC” What’s the difference between the two? It’s quite simple. When a patient’s heart needs to be shocked:

Semi-Automatic defibrillators read out a warning to stand clear and then ask you to press a button to deliver a shock to the patient’s heart. Automatic Defibrillators verbally warn you to stand clear and then automatically apply the shock. Neither type is better than the other, generally choosing between the two is just a matter of preference.

Reader Technology

The stress of a life-threatening event can make it a challenge to give good quality CPR. Even 70% of medical professionals could improve their CPR quality. Some Defibrillators can help you in a stressful situation by giving you live feedback on how your CPR is going.

For example, they can tell you to “push harder” and “push faster.” In the industry, we call this “Reader Technology.” At DDI Safety, this is one of our favorite features.

The Heartsine 500p

If you are interested in a Defibrillator with CPR Reader technology, consider the Heartsine PAD500p. It has a long 8 year warranty, 4 year battery, and pad life and stands out as our only model with this lifesaving reader technology.

How much does a Defibrillator cost?

Saving a person’s life has never been better value.
Our models start from $1530. Maintenance costs over 8 years can potentially be as low as $200.
Such a small financial expense could change someone’s life.

Are Defibrillators easy to maintain? What maintenance is required on AED’s

At DDI Safety, the defibs we sell are designed to be simple to maintain. On the models we sell, they usually only need maintenance after they are used, or after 4 years of standby.

Heartsine AEDS: These have a combined pad and battery pack. All you have to do is pull out the old pack and slot the new one in.

Lifepak AED’s: They come with easy pull tabs for battery removal, and simple clear instructions to plug in new tabs.

If you’d like to learn a little more about maintaining defibrillators, you can do so here and here

Why aren’t Defibrillator
batteries and pads reusable?

Read our blog posts to find the answer