Thatcham hearts in good hands after groups fund town defibrillator

Automated external defibrillators (AED) can be used by anyone - with no training needed - to shock a person’s heart back into normal rhythm if they suffer a sudden cardiac arrest.
They increase the chance of someone surviving from nine per cent to 50 per cent when compared to the use of CPR alone.
The equipment was installed after a year of fundraising by various local charities.
The new AED, which cost £2,500, has more than a two year life span before a new battery is needed and is vandal proof. It is located at the Kingsland Centre, opposite Waitrose at 48 to 53 the Broadway.
Thatcham and District Rotarian, John Smart, who started the campaign to get the AED installed, said that his wife Pam, had her aortic heart valve replaced in 2011 and was subsequently diagnosed with amyloid cardiomyopathy.
While this is a relatively rare heart condition that
leads to an enlargement of the heart muscle and a stiffening of the heart valves, the symptoms and prognosis are very similar to the more common disease of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which Mrs Smart, a retired school teacher and governor was initially diagnosed with.
The majority of people affected with an enlarged heart muscle remain well and have few or no symptoms and research has shown that, with proper treatment and follow-up, most people with the condition live a normal life.
However, because there is a slim risk of getting a life-threatening arrhythmia, a small proportion of people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are at risk of sudden cardiac death.
With this knowledge and awareness of the huge difference that could be made with CPR and use of an AED, Mr Smart, a retired software engineer, approached the Rotary Club to join him in beginning to raise funds for the device.
One of the events hed were the Rotary Club's duck race ont he River Kennet which raised about £4,000. Thatcham Nursing Society also raised half the funds needed for the equipment.
Mr Smart said: “We are very grateful to those at Thatcham Nursing Society, who donated half of the total funds needed to get the public-access AED and cabinet.
"It has the potential to save people's lives."
Mike Rees, from Thatcham Nursing Society, said: “The society are pleased to continue their work within Thatcham and welcome the placement of this new lifesaving device.
"In the unfortunate event that it has to be used I hope it will help save a life”.
The new scheme is being run in conjunction with Heartstart Thatcham.
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