A common call out for paramedics is to a patient with a cardiac, or heart problem. It can range from angina through to a heart attack or even cardiac arrest when the heart stops beating effectively.
Paramedics have the technology to be able to record how a heart is beating, how fast it is beating and if it's not beating correctly, they can defibrillate, or electronically restart the heart.
A defibrillator works by sending an electronic shock into the heart to restart the rhythm that it beats at.
MICA paramedics also use a machine called a 12 lead ECG. This provides a real time 3D image of the heart. Paramedics place 12 'sticky dots' on the patient which then records the image of the heart. This image is then sent electronically from the scene of the emergency to a hospital emergency department where doctors can immediately prepare to unblock an artery before the patient has even arrived.
This success story using the 12 lead ECG machine when it was first introduced shows the benefit the new technology provides.
Julie from Berwick had been an Ambulance Victoria member since 1999.