HeartSine AED Awareness (VTQ)™
Course Content
- Initial Introduction to First Aid
- Cardiac Arrest and CPR
- How to use an AED
- Types of HeartSine AED
- Summary and what's next
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AED Pads HeartSine
We're going to now look at the AED pads themselves. Now, with the HeartSine, there are two types. There are the adult and the child. To put the AED pads into the unit, line it up, just make sure... You might need to twist it slightly so it lines up in place. Once it's in line, push until it clicks. And then the AED pad's in and ready to use. To remove the pads, we squeeze the clips on the outside. Don't go pulling this toggle here, because that'll activate the pads, it'll pull the cover off, and the pads will come out ready to use. If you were just needing to check anything and you pull this, you're going to have to replace the pads because you've already broken the seal of the packaging. You just squeeze on the outside and you can then remove the pads nice and easily. The pad cartridge themselves, if you look on the back, you'll see the expiry date, which is you need to make sure that you use them by then because this is the date when also the battery is then the maximum time it can be used. But also, the adhesive on the pads may well start to break down over time, so this is the guaranteed maximum time. If you don't have pads in date, then you'd have to use them. It's not a major problem, but they would not work as well, so always make sure that you keep a log of when the pads need changing. To look a bit further on here, it tells on top here that it's our adult pads, over 25 kilos. It will tell you basic instructions on there on how to use it and these would be duplicated on the unit itself. On the other side, all you can see here really is where it goes into the unit, so you've just got the electrodes on the bottom there, where it actually connects onto the unit for taking the current. This toggle here is quite important because this is what cause the pads to be released. Just to show you how these work, if we just pop this into the unit and we hold on the end here, when we pull this, the actual pads are coming away. What's happening here is it's pulling the pad section away, and you've then got the cable. Rather than before, when we squeezed the clip, the whole cartridge came out. Now, we've activated the pads. By pulling that out, this is the wires which you can just... They'll come out on their own. On the other side, we've got the pads, and we would just take the foil off and once we've taken the foil off, you've got the pads themselves. And you just open these up and on here, you'll see that where the pad goes. For example, this one is going under the arm. The other pad will have an image here of it's going just about on the right-hand side by the collarbone. When you're actually putting the pads on, there's a little toggle to make it nice and easy. You can just peel the pad away from the backing. And on here is this sticky adhesive. It's like an adhesive gel. It's very good. It goes on to the skin very, very easily. Remember when we're putting the pads on, if it's a very hairy chest we need to remove the excess hair, otherwise, we're sticking the pads onto the hair, not onto the skin. Also, line it up well, pop the pads onto the skin, and then push them on. Don't repeatedly put the pads on, take them off, because what'll happen then is a lot of dead skin will get onto the pad and it will reduce the effectiveness of the pads. Once the pads are on, then you would leave them on the patient even when you bring them round because just in case they go into cardiac arrest again, you can then just turn the unit off. Hopefully, by this time, the emergency services are there and then they can then take over. When the emergency services do arrive, they may well carry on using your AED unit, or they may remove your one and then put theirs on. Because their's will be a much better, higher level, and also they can adjust the amount of shock and get more data in from what's actually happened on the patient.
Guide to AED Pads: Maintenance and Application
Types of AED Pads
There are various types of AED units, but their pads share common characteristics:
- Self-adhesive Gel Pads: Stick to the skin for effective contact.
- Cartridges and Packs: Different packaging formats.
Maintenance and Application Tips
Proper maintenance and application ensure AED pads perform effectively:
- Check Expiry and Condition: Ensure pads are in date and undamaged.
- Adhesive Properties: Reduce once opened or past expiration.
- Correct Application: Follow instructions carefully for proper placement.
- Do Not Remove Once Applied: Pads lose effectiveness if re-applied.
- Regular Maintenance: Include pad checks in routine AED maintenance.
Ensuring AED pads are correctly applied and maintained is crucial for their efficacy during emergencies.
