General Questions
Ready Light
What exactly does the green Ready light mean?
Life Guidance
What is the Philips HeartStart Life Guidance?
AED Bundle
When I purchase the HeartStart Defibrillator or FRx Defibrillator, what comes with it?
When you purchase the HeartStart AED, you get all the items needed to respond to a cardiac arrest:
- HeartStart AED with its Owner’s Manual, a battery, a SMART Pads cartridge, and a Quick Reference.
- Carrying Case is sold separately due to its many available case options, depending on which AED is purchased.
Printed Reports
How can I get printed reports of the HeartStart AED data?
Environment/Physical Requirements for Philips Defibrillators
What Sealing Protection is offered and the meaning for the HeartStart AED units?
IP (Ingress Protection) Rating is a ratings standard that measures a device’s degree of protection from dust and water(##). The higher the number, the greater the resistance.
- OnSite IP Rating is 21 — solid object class IP 2X and drip-proof class IPX1 (preferably for indoor storage area)
- FRx IP Rating is 55 — solid object class IP 5X and drip-proof class IPX5 (maximum # for durable outdoor storage area)
- FR3 IP Rating is 55 — solid object class IP 5X and drip-proof class IPX5 (maximum # for durable outdoor storage area)
AED Unit Specifications
Does the HeartStart Defibrillator meet AAMI DF 80 requirements?
Pacemaker Artifact
What about pacemaker interference?
Infant/Child Pads or Key
How do I know when to use an Infant/Child Pads (OnSite AED) or Key (FRx & FR3 AED units) for Pediatric defibrillation?
Battery
Battery Shelf Life
How do you know your non-rechargeable batteries have a five (5)-year shelf life?
Battery Service Life
How do you know that the battery has a typical life of four (4)-years when the HeartStart AED unit is in standby mode?
Battery Performance in Stay By Mode – Upon Installation or Before Shelf Life Date
If battery is inserted before “Install Before” date, how will the battery perform with the Philips HeartStart unit in stand-by mode?
Battery Verification
If I find a “loose” battery, how do I know it’s good?
Dependability
Why are lithium manganese dioxide batteries so dependable?
Battery Temperature
Don’t lithium batteries perform poorly in cold temperatures?
Low Battery Indicator
When the low battery indicator is given, how much time does the device really have left?
Charge/Discharge
Does the daily self-test involve a full energy charge and discharge of the defibrillation system?
SMART Pads
Reversed Pads Placement
What will happen if I reverse pad location according to the diagrams on each pad?
A/P Pads Location
Can I place the pads in an anterior/posterior location?
HeartStart Infant/Child SMART Pads.
Defibrillation Shock
SMART Biphasic
How does SMART Biphasic work?
AED Shock Strength in Current & Energy, Plus Number of Shocks and Operating Time
How is shock strength measured using Current and Energy?
Maximum Energy
What is the highest amount of energy that the HeartStart units deliver?
No Escalating Energy
Why doesn’t the HeartStart defibrillator deliver escalating high energy?
Escalating energy implies that you deliver your first shock with low energy, holding back potency, and only resort to higher potency if the early defibrillation attempts fail. The only reason to hold back potency on early defibrillation attempts would be to avoid the possibility of the side effect of cardiac dysfunction at a time when the heart is most fragile. In fact, there is a downside to high-energy shocks. While high peak current is associated with defibrillation effectiveness, high energy can result in a delay in the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) due to cardiac dysfunction caused by stunning.1 Philips delivers a high peak-current waveform using a low-energy shock. So with Philips SMART Biphasic therapy, the patient receives our most potent therapy with the very first shock and on every subsequent shock. There is no need to escalate when every shock is already at maximum effectiveness. Guidelines 2005 has taken the clear position that there is no demonstrable advantage of escalating therapy over fixed low energy.2 In fact, patients receiving escalating therapy may wait about six minutes to receive the most potent therapy. With Philips SMART Biphasic, patients receive our most effective therapy on the very first shock.
- Tang et al. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2004; 43(7):1228-1235.
- 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. Circulation. 2005; 112 Supplement IV.
HeartStart Clinical Trials
Do you have clinical study data on real-world testing of your defibrillator, rather than testing only in animals or in hospitalized patients with artificially induced VF and no significant “down time”?
The outstanding performance of Philips SMART Biphasic waveform in treating sudden cardiac arrest has been reported in over 20 peer reviewed manuscripts, representing hundreds of VF patients. Most of these studies were in real-world, out-of-hospital settings. The studies show a very high first-shock efficacy with long-duration VF, regardless of patient weight, impedance, or cause of arrest.1,2,3 One study showed first-shock efficacy of 100% in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.4 Another out-of-hospital study showed 96% first-shock efficacy in long-duration cardiac arrest.
- Schneider et al., Circulation, 2000; 102:1780-1787
- White et al. Critical Care Medicine. 2004; 32(9) Supplement S387-S392.
- White et al. Resuscitation. 2005 Jan.; 64(1):63-9.
- Page et al. New England Journal of Medicine. 2000; 343:1210-1216.
IP Rating
AED IP Ratings (IP ##)
What does the IP code or numbers mean listed on the HeartStart AED units and in the product brochure?
Temperature
Effects of Temperature
How does temperature affect the HeartStart AED units and the SMART Pads?
Rhythm Analysis
Shockable Rhythms
What types of rhythms does the HeartStart unit shock?
PEA (Pulseless Electrical Activity)
How does the HeartStart unit differentiate PEA from NSR?
Defibrillation Quick Shock
Quick Shock
What is Quick Shock and what is its benefit?
Recent studies have revealed that CPR is even more beneficial than previously realized, particularly for longer down-time cardiac arrest patients.1,2 The beneficial effect of CPR disappears very rapidly once it is stopped, so time to shock after CPR is very important.3,4 Quick Shock is a unique feature offered only by Philips on HeartStart automated external defibrillators (AEDs). All HeartStart AED models can deliver a shock typically in less than 10 seconds after the end of a CPR interval.
- Cobb LA, Fahrenbruch CE, Walsh TR, et al. Influence of cardiopulmonary resuscitation prior to defibrillation in patients with out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation. JAMA. 1999 Apr 7;281(13):1182-8.
- Wik L, Hansen TB, Fylling F, et al. Delaying defibrillation to give basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation to patients with out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation: A Randomized Trial. JAMA.2003 Mar 19; 289(11):1389-95.
- Yu T, Weil MH, Tang W. Adverse outcomes of interrupted precordial compression during automated defibrillation. Circulation. 2002; 106:368-372.
- Eftestol T, Sunde K, Steen PA. Effects of Interrupting precordial compressions in the calculated probability of defibrillation success during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Circulation. 2002;105:2270-2273.
Abort
If I turn the device off, or don’t press the shock button, is the defibrillation charge dumped?
Voice Instructions
Excessive Noise
If I can’t hear the voice instructions (for example, because of excessive noise at the scene) what should I do?
Data Recording and Transmission
Data Stored & Retrieved
How much data is stored for the HeartStart AED units and what is used to retrieve it?
Self-Tests
Automatic Function
How often does the HeartStart Defibrillators conduct self-tests and what does it include?
Ready Light
What does it mean when the light is blinking through the little window?
Abort
What happens if I need to use the HeartStart AED when it is performing a self-test?
Confidence
How can you make me confident in the reliability of the HeartStart defibrillator relying on self-tests and the Ready light?
Battery Insertion
Is it necessary to conduct our own battery insertion self-check periodically?
Because the battery insertion self-test is very detailed and uses battery power, running it more often than necessary will drain the battery prematurely. It is recommended that you run the battery insertion self-test only:
- when the defibrillator is first put into service.
- after each time the defibrillator is used to treat a patient.
- when the battery is replaced.
- when the defibrillator may have been damaged.
Pads Check
Does the daily self-tests also check the defibrillation pads?
Disposables
Shelf Life
What is the shelf life of the disposables used with the HeartStart OnSite or FRx AED units?
With the battery and SMART Pads cartridges remaining in their original packaging, the items have the following shelf lives:
- Battery: 5 years (note “Install Before” date on packaging).
- SMART Pads: at least 2 years from the date of shipment (note “Use Before” date on packaging).
Warranty
Expiration, AED
How do you interpret the expiration date labeled on each Philips AED?
The OnSite and FRx has a 8-year warranty and the FR3 has a 5-year warranty. On the outside of each AED box, it will indicate the expiration date for each AED product. The serial number will also assist you in determining the approximate expiration date – the AED (add 5 or 8 years), Battery (add 4 years), and Pads (add 2 years) to the specified examples below:
- A16J-##### —- A (Onsite), 16 (Year manufactured), J (Oct. – Month manufactured) – ##### (5-digit Serial No.)
- B16C-##### —- B (FRx), 16 (Year manufactured), C (Mar. – Month manufactured) – ##### (5-digit Serial No.)
- C16B-##### —- C (FR3), 16 (Year manufactured), B (Feb. – Month manufactured) – ##### (5-digit Serial No.)
Expiration, Battery
How do you interpret the “Install Before” labeling on the battery?
Symbols – For OnSite & FRx Units
What does the PULL tab on the OnSite AED mean?
What does this circular button on the OnSite or FRx AED mean?
What does the button with a lightning bolt symbol on the front on the OnSite or FRx AED mean?
What does the “I” button on the front on the OnSite or FRx AED mean?
What does the triangle marking on the OnSite mean? OR What does the hand with line threw it on the FRx mean?
touch the patient.
For all other Symbols and their meanings, please refer to the AED’s Owner’s Manual for further information.
Distributor Contact Information – Service/Tech Support/and More
Philips Servicing
How do I get the HeartStart AED Unit serviced?
Tech Support Request
If I need technical support regarding the AED unit, pads, battery, or other assistance – who would I call?
For More Information – CALL
- Philips HeartStart Customer Service at 1-800-26-DEFIB; Website: www.medical.philips.com/hear