AED’s recalled; you are NOT affected (directly)

CNN.com – Medtronic recalling 2,000 defibrillators – Feb 25, 2005

Medtronic Inc. said Friday it is recalling nearly 2,000 automatic defibrillators that may not work properly.

The company said the machines may not correctly analyze a patient’s heart rhythm, possibly preventing the machine from defibrillating the heart when it is needed.

The recall covers 1,924 Lifepak 500 AED’s made in 1997, the company said. Automatic defibrillators analyze heart rhythm in people that may be having a heart attack and, if necessary, shock the heart back into rhythm.

Nowhere in this disturbing article do they actually use the word EXTERNAL, which is what these defibs are: they’re the ones with the patches on the outside of the chest used in airports, sports arenas, and big amusement parks in case you drop dead.

Now, this article is disturbing, as

Medtronic said it has received 54 reports of instances involving this group of defibrillators, including eight cases where it may have prevented patient resuscitation.

Wow, that’s a lotta failures, even for a device that’s fairly complicated but supposed to be foolproof enough to save a life.

Anyway, they’re external defibrillators, so don’t lose any sleep over your implanted one.