Reviving Cardiac Science

Executive Summary

Both physicians and the general public share the perception that a sudden cardiac emergency in a hospital will, almost instantly, draw a response team equipped with a crash cart to revive the patient. Recent studies show, however, that average response times can be as high as ten minutes in situations where each minute that passes diminishes the patient's survival rate by 10%. Cardiac Science's technology continuously monitors patients, detects a rhythm problem and delivers defibrillation shocks to return the patient to normal rhythm in an average response time of 21 seconds. Some physicians, however, remain skeptical about the need for such technology, presenting the company with the challenge of convincing clinicians to alter longstanding practice patterns.