Staff, students and visitors at Arroyo Grande and Nipomo high schools may have a better chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest, thanks to four automatic external defibrillators installed recently on the two campuses.

A fifth AED was installed in the Lucia Mar Unified School District’s Georgie O’Connor Board Room.

The installation of the devices marks the culmination of a promise between the school district and the family of Richard Beedle — a prominent Nipomo citizen whose untimely death some say may have been prevented had an AED been on hand when he went into sudden cardiac arrest during a visit to a local school.

“It is my hope that we never have to use (the AEDs),” District Nurse Linda Hogoboom said. “But ... if they save even one life, then I’m going to recognize that it was well worth the investment.”

AEDs, which cost approximately $2,000 per unit, are roughly the size of the typical notebook computer and work by analyzing a cardiac patient’s heart rhythm and determining whether an electrical shock is necessary to get the heart functioning normally again.

If so, the device delivers a shock via special pads an emergency responder places on the patient’s chest.

Experts say that an AED — in conjunction with cardiopulmonary resuscitation — is several times more effective than CPR by itself.

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Based on a 2000 study conducted in select Las Vegas casinos, the survival rate for victims of sudden cardiac arrest who received CPR alone while awaiting an AED-equipped ambulance was a paltry 5 percent.

However, the survival rate of victims who received CPR in conjunction with the application of an AED prior to an ambulance’s arrival jumped to 78 percent.

This happens because, while it typically takes eight to 12 minutes for an ambulance to respond to an emergency, once cardiac arrest occurs, brain death can take place in just four to six minutes — unless CPR is initiated an AED applied, said Christine van Solinge, emergency procedure trainer and owner of Santa Maria-based Safety 1st Seminars.

Experts say a lack of oxygen to the brain during cardiac arrest can cause brain damage in even less time.

Which is what happened to Beedle.

In February 2006, Beedle — a 55-year-old father of four who served on the Nipomo High School Boosters Club, among other community organizations — was in a coma for 11 days and lost

97 percent of his short-term memory after he suffered a cardiac arrest at St. Patrick’s School in Arroyo Grande.

Ten months later and just six days before Christmas, Beedle died of bone cancer.

While at first glance the two conditions appear unrelated, Beedle’s loved ones say his reduced mental state made it difficult for doctors to diagnose the cancer, and, by the time they did, it had already advanced to its final stages.

Though Beedle’s cardiac episode did not occur on a Lucia Mar campus, his death spurred two board members to action.

Colleen Martin and Paul Teixeira promised Beedle’s family the board would do everything possible to get AEDs installed on all school sites in the district.

“This is something we wanted to do,” Martin said, adding her family has enjoyed a long friendship with the Beedle family.

In the coming months, the district plans to place AEDs at Lopez High School, its three middle schools, and the district-owned Oceano Community Center, said Superintendent Jim Hogeboom.

Eventually, the elementary schools will all have AEDs as well.

For Beedle’s wife, Mary, the AED installation gave her hope to counter the pain of her loss.

“My family and I feel ... that something positive came out of his heart attack,” she said, her voice breaking. “I’m sure that in the future (the AEDs) will save someone’s life. I know he would be happy as well.”

Those interested in learning more about AEDs can contact Christine van Solinge at 928-SAFE (7233) or

safetyfirst.seminars@verizon.net.

November 6, 2008