We are a fairly young company offering San Fernando CPR Classes and Automatic External Defibrillators which incorporated in 2007. Our mission is to provide AED, First Aid, and CPR training to the residents of Woodland Hills, Simi Valley, West Hills, and all of the San Fernando Valley which can help prevent death resulting from sudden cardiac arrest. Defibrillators save lifes and they should be available wherever people congregate. Having an automated external defibrillator available when sudden cardiac arrest occurs gives the victim a second chance at life.
Since most of the time, Emergency Medical Technicians do not arrive within 3 minutes of sudden cardiac arrest, it is up to those people with the victim to do whatever they can to keep the victim alive until the EMT’s arrive. EMT’s usually arrive between 9-14 minutes. If nothing is done to the victim of sudden cardiac arrest, the victim will die. CPR in one way to increase the chances the victim will live. Defibrillation and CPR increase those chances even more.
Our defibrillators and accessories represent that second chance at life. CPR Defibrillator and AED training at our San Fernando Valley Location can provide you with state of the art devices and accessories to combat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Our devices are very easy to use even without training, our CPR & AED training prices are very competitive, and our goal, to please.
Working together we can decrease the percentage of deaths resulting from SCA. Let us help you obtain these life saving defibrillator training programs in The Valley for that second chance at life.
What is an AED (automatic external defibrillator)?
It is a machine which detects if your heart is not beating correctly and provides an electric shock to put the heart back into it’s normal rhythm. It assists with saving lives due to sudden cardiac arrest.
Is an AED easy to operate?
Most AED units are designed for ease of use. They can be activated with a single touch, and operated with simple light, audio, and/or graphical prompts. The more features and options an AED provides, the more confusing it can be to the lay-person rescuer. So when selecting your AED, consider how much experience the user has in operating an AED and performing CPR. If the users will have little training, keep it simple.
Who is the best manufacturer?
Tough question. We are confident that all of our manufacturers will remain in business producing and servicing AED units for a very long time. Presently, Philips is the largest of the AED manufacturer. Other AED manufacturers have a long and highly respected reputation in the medical field, such as Zoll. The smaller AED manufacturers, such as Defibtech, do not have the same financial resources as the larger companies. Rather, they have excelled in the AED market because they each bring one extremely well designed AED unit to market with outstanding features at a low price. We don’t carry Medtronic and Welch Ann because they have had recalls recently. We may carry other manufacturers who prove themselves like Philips, Zoll and Defibtech have.
Do all AED models have the same boot-up speed to shock-ready?
Study after study concludes that in a cardiac emergency, the faster a shock is administered to a victim, the better the victim’s chances of survival. In 2005, the American Heart Association criticized AED manufacturers for not having fast enough boot-up speeds. Some AED units had boot-up speed as slow as 30 seconds. That is to say, from the time the activation button on the AED unit was pressed, it took up to 30 seconds before the AED was ready to administer a shock to the victim. In 2006, AED manufactures responded by reducing boot-up speed by approximately 50%. Today, every AED unit has a unique boot-up speed. When purchasing an AED, you should consider the boot-up speeds, which will in part determine how quickly a rescuer can administer a life saving shock from the AED.
What are the top 3 human reasons an AED may fail?
(1) Can’t quickly retrieve the AED – Federal government guidelines recommend that businesses and public places have enough AED units so that when needed, an AED can be retrieved quickly and applied anywhere from any property location in less than 3 minutes. Unfortunately, not enough are purchased and placed properly. Most businesses and pubic places do not have the recommended number of AED units. Most people are not familiar as to where they are located. Do you have enough AED units on your property? Do your employees know where they are? (2) Drops and damages AED – AED units should be protected while being transported in a hard carrying case and stored in preferably a wall cabinet when not in use for all to see. You should protect your AED from damage. Some AEDs are more resiliant to being damaged when dropped. Protect your lifesaving AED. A life may depend on it. (3) Does not know how to use AED – Federal government guidelines recommend that every person that is expected to use an AED in an emergency be trained in CPR and AED. CPR and AED training is simple, affordable and saves lives. For CPR and AED training, you can contact your local fire department to ask about free training as many towns offer it. You can also contact the American Red Cross who offers training for a nominal fee. Or you can call or email us and we can work with you to provide you with CPR and AED training in Simi Valley, the San Fernando Valley, or anywhere in Los Angeles County. You can check out or HomePage for our most up-to-date CPR, ACLS, and First Aid certification schedule.
Which AED unit should I purchase?
The better question here is, who will operator the AED unit, a trained or lay-person rescuer? The reason for asking this question is to know whether you should purchase an AED which has functionality such as an ECG screen, adjustable voltage, and longer event memory or whether you should purchase an AED which has audio and/or graphical CPR and AED instructions, live audio compression depth, rate and hand position feedback. AEDs made for medical professionals are usually more expensive, tend to be more rugged, have more functionality, and more user options as mentioned above. They are less user friendly and usually have an ECG (Electrical Cardio Graph) screen which gives an enhanced and visual display of heart function, only of value to the highly trained professional rescuer. If you are purchasing an AED unit for the lay-person, more than likely you would not want an AED with an ECG screen, as it will provide little or no value to the lay-person rescuer. Instead, an AED with more helpful user instructional prompts should be considered, such as (a.) audio and/or graphical CPR and AED instructions, (b.) live audio CPR compression depth, rate, and hand position feedback, (c.) activation, assembly, and application audio and/or visual instructions, (c.) and more.
Do all AED units have the same battery life expectancy, the same battery replacement cost, and same pad replacement cost?
No. AED units come with varying battery life lengths and various pad life lengths. Batteries range from 3 years to 7 years in life expectancy. Pad lengths vary from 2 years to 7 years. In addition to considering the battery life length, you should also consider the cost of replacing expired batteries. Replacement batteries range between $99 to several hundred dollars. Replacement pads range between one hundred dollars to more than several hundred dollars. By considering the expected life of an AED unit’s battery, and the resulting replacement cost, you can better estimate the true cost of that AED model.
Should my AED notify me it needs new a battery or service?
Yes. It is good to have an AED unit which notifies me that the unit’s batteries are expiring or that the AED unit needs to be serviced. AED units have different ways of notifying the user of when the AED unit’s batteries are expiring or the AED unit needs to be serviced. An audible alarm, a flashing light, or a dual alert option is usually available. Unfortunately, this dual alert option usually is available on more expensive AED units. Cost is always a consideration. Alarms are very useful in notifying you that your AED needs attention, but you must decide if the AED alarm will be disruptive to other coworkers. And what about those who work in a nosey environment? Will you hear the AED alarm? Do you purchase a dual alert device. These are usually more expensive Should you consider a flashing light alert? Possibly, however, a flashing light alert could be confused with the flashing light signifying the AED is functioning properly. Be aware that when purchasing an AED with a flashing light only alert, that there is an increased risk of confusing the flashing light alert signifying the AED needs service, with the flashing light alert signifying the AED is working properly. You will need to weigh these options and pick the best option for your situation.
If I am not trained in CPR, which AED unit provides the most comprehensive CPR assistance with guidance and feedback ?
The best unit offering the most comprehensive CPR guidance and feedback is the Zoll AED Plus unit. The Zoll AED Plus unit has specially designed pads and live audio feedback to assist the lay-person rescuer in performing high quality CPR. Know that some AED units display illustrations demonstrating basic CPR, some AED units provide audio CPR instructions, and some AED units, like the Zoll AED Plus unit provide both. Since repeated studies have concluded that the best response in a cardiac emergency is immediate application of an AED coupled with high quality CPR, until professional medical assistance arrives, the best AED unit offered is the Zoll AED Plus. Performing both CPR and defibrillation offers the victim the best chance at survival.
How many AED units should I have on my property?
We cannot tell you how many AED unit to purchase. We can only tell you that, in a cardiac emergency, seconds can mean the difference between life and death. For an AED to be effective, it must be able to be retrieved from anywhere within the defined property limits, set up, and a shock delivered within 3 minutes. Therefore, having a minimum of one AED on each floor of a building if the building is small in scale, or more than one AED unit on a floor when the building is large in scale creates a greater chance at saving lives. The the more AED units available on your property the better chance you have of saving lives. The single most important factor in saving a life with an AED is minimizing the time that elapses before the victim is shocked by the AED.
Where is my AED unit being kept and should I buy a hard or soft AED carrying case or a cabinet?
If your AED will reside in a stationary location and needs to be visible for all to see, consider purchasing a cabinet to house your AED on the wall with a large AED sign above the AED. Cabinets come with lights and/or alarms. Having an AED visible and available to bystanders increases the probability of quick and effective utilization. If the AED unit will be portable, you should consider purchasing a durable, hard carrying case to protect the AED unit from weather and jarring. Another possibility is to purchase an AED unit that has a higher drop resistance such as those with a rubber grip handle and/or sides. AED units that will be used for in environments such as marine, aviation, industrial, medical, EMS, beach, pool, aquatic areas, humid, hot, dusty, or sandy areas. AED units that have a high tolerance for drop resistance are the best for these types of environments.
Is the AED software updating process the same for all AED models?
AED units typically need to have their operating software updated every 5 years. That is because American Heart Association releases the updated ECC CPR and AED guidelines every five years, and the AED manufacturers tend to modify their AED units to comply with the most recent ECC guidelines. The process of updating AED operating software varies from AED model to AED model. Some AED models are updated via infra red or USB connections. Some AED models are even updated by compact flash cards. Our experience has told us that consumers find infra red updating the least convenient, and USB and compact flash card updating the quickest and easiest. Either way, the updating process is conducted by an authorized service technician and only takes a few minutes.