Philips HeartStart Defibrillator
If you are one of theĀ millions of people who have an elderly person living with you, such as a parent or spouse; you have someone in the house or in your business who has heart disease, congestive heart failure or other type of heart condition; or possibly someone in your house or place of work has some sort of known or unknown heart issue, you are at risk that person’s heart could stop beating suddenly, known as sudden cardiac arrest, or (SCA).Ā Statistics show that nearly 300,000 people suffer from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) each year,Ā and nearly 80% of these instances happen in the home.Ā If no one in the house or business knows how to perform CPR, you should have a automatic external defibrillator (AED) on hand to help get the person’s heart beating while you wait for the paramedics to arrive.Ā Philips HeartStart is the leading portable cardiac defibrillator on the market to be used in the home, office, or sporting event to get a heart started in a person having sudden cardiac arrest.Ā Having a portable Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) can mean the difference between life and death since it usually takes three to five minutes for paramedics to arrive, and a person not breathing or with no heart beat can die or suffer brain damage in those precious few minutes, due to lack of oxygen.
What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Sudden Cardiac Arrest or SCA, is a medical condition where a person’s heart suddenly stops beating.Ā This condition is most common in the elderly, people with a heart disease, a person with a heart defect, or someone who suffers a heart attack.
Most people who die from Sudden Cardiac Arrest due so because no one in the house or place of work knows how to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), or there is not a automatic external defibrillator like a Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator available to help get the patient’s heart beating.
Every business small or large should have a portable AED machine, and have a staff trained on both CPR and how to use a heart defibrillator.Ā If you have elderly people or someone withĀ a heart condition, it is important that one or more people are trained on CPR.Ā This training is easily available through the Red Cross, fire departments or hospitals hold classes for the public at little or no cost.
80% of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) happens in the home, and knowing CPR and having a cardiac defibrillator can mean the difference between life or death until paramedics arrive.
What is an Automatic External Defibrillator?
An automatic external defibrillator, like the Philips Heartstart,Ā is a cardiac arrestĀ machine that is used to restart a heart that has stopped beating, due to Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) or other issue that causes the heart to suddenly stop beating and is not responsive to CPR.Ā An automatic external defibrillator uses paddles that are applied to the chest and gives the heart an electric shock to get it to start beating again.Ā The Philips AED is a portable automatic external defibrillator designed to be used in the home or place or work.Ā This is a non-hospital type defibrillator, that is to be used to treat cardiac arrest until medical personnel arrive.Ā You will need to purchase infant and children’s size smart pads for the Philips Heartstart separately.
How Does the Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator (AED) Work?
The Philips HeartStartĀ is an automatic external defibrillator used to treat victims of sudden cardiac arrest, who are non responsive and not breathing normally.Ā This home AEDĀ treats the most common cause of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, which is heart attack, by delivering a shock to the heart.Ā Use the HeartStart and CPR, as needed, until emergency professionals arrive.
By applying the Smart Pads to the chest and following the simple voice prompt directions, you push the button when the voice prompt instructs you to do so, which will give the heart an electric shock.Ā If successful, breathing and normal heart beat will return.Ā This will help regain vital life systems until emergency personnel can arrive and transport the patient to the hospital for medical care.
There are instances when CPR is the proper course of action to get a person in sudden cardiac arrest breathing who has suddenly stopped breathing.Ā The Philips HeartStart automatic external defibrillator quickly helps you determine whether CPR, fibrillation of the heart or both is the best course of action.
The audible instructions are in English only.Ā The Philips Home Defibrillator does not have a setting to change the language of the voice prompt, so it is critical that someone in the home or place of work understands written and verbal English commands.
- Easy To Use – Guides you with interactive voice prompt
- Safe – Delivers a shock only if needed
- Reliable – Runs daily self-tests for readiness
Please Note**
- You cannot use the Philips HeartStart to treat yourself.
- Users may need to perform CPR.
- Responding to cardiac arrest may require you to kneel.
- Voice instructions and enclosed materials are in English*.
- Philips AED provides audible and visible indicators if the device requires maintenance.
Benefits of Having a Home Cardiac Defibrillator
Due to the high cost of home health care or nursing homes, many people are faced with having elderly or sick family members living with them, and with nearly 80% of sudden cardiac arrest events happening in the home, having a automatic external defibrillator at home and knowing how to perform CPR is critical to saving the life of a person in sudden cardiac arrest.Ā These are the types of people who would most benefit from a home heart defibrillator.
My father-in-law had heart disease for years, and suffered a heart attack and near death experience from congestive heart failure at home.Ā My inlaws did not have a home defibrillator, and during a beout of congestive heart failure when the paramedics arrived they had to use a defibrillator as he had stopped breathing and his pulse was very weak.Ā Those precious few minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
- For the best chance of survival, a defibrillator should be applied within 5 minutes.
- Less than 5% of Sudden Cardiac Arrest victims survive. This is largely because defibrillators don’t reach them in time.
- Nearly 80% of all sudden cardiac arrest episodes occur at home.
What Comes with the Philips HeartStart ?
ā Philips HeartStart Defibrillator (an automated external defibrillator or AED)
ā Red carry case with 911/EMS card
ā Adult SMART Pads cartridge (lasts 2 years)**
ā Battery (lasts 4 years)***
ā Training video
ā 5-year warranty
In addition, when you purchase a Philips Defibrillator, you get the following:
When you purchase a Philips SmartStart Defibrillator, you get aĀ Support Program Enrollment Card.Ā By enrolling in this free program, you will have access to a range of services, including:
- Important notifications about HeartStart
- Customer service*
- Periodic accessory reminders
- Post-use counseling*
*These services are available to all HeartStart owners.
Philips will send you a free Fast Response Kit (over $40 value) for enrolling in the Support Program.
Philips Heartstart Defibrillator Pads for Children
Please note the Smart Pads that come with the HeartStart Defibrillator are for adults.Ā You will need to purchase separate Smart Pads for children and infants.
Drawbacks of a Home Defibrillator
After doing significant research for this defibrillator review, the only drawbacks I found were cost and the defibrillator battery.
While the cost of a Philips AED at a little over $1,000 may seem high to some people, ask yourself what the cost of a life is?Ā What is the cost of life for an elderly parent or a father with a heart condition?
The other drawback is the battery.Ā The Philips Automatic External Defibrillator requires a special battery, due to the sensitive electronics in this cardiac defibrillator, that can only be purchased from Philips Medical.Ā The good news here is that the battery has a four year lifespan.
Ā What Are People Saying Who Have Used the Philips HeartStart Defibrillator?
Best Emergency Heart Product
Necessary for every business
Terrific product and the battery does last for 4 years
Peace of Mind Has No Price
Life Saver!
This product is remarkable. Exceptionally well designed and easy to use
Where Can You Buy a Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator?
You can purchase a Philips HeartStart Defibrillator at Amazon.com.Ā If you need pads for children and infants, Buy.com has them in stock ready to ship to you to keep your entire family safe.
To rad more reviews of the Philips Heartstart, click here.
To Your Health!
Ken




[...] has heart disease or other life threatening heart condition, you should consider purchasing a home defibrillator to have on hand in case someone on your home goes into Sudden Cardiac [...]