Peachtree City

United Methodist Church is becoming a pretty good place to have a heart

attack, if there is such a thing.

The church

recently purchased an Automatic External Defibrillator that can be used

to treat victims in cardiac arrest and improve their chance for survival.

Staff members have been trained how to use the device, which involves

placing pads on the chest of the victim that are connected to the orange

box that houses the computer that essentially does the rest of the work.

The computer

analyzes the victim's heart rhythm and determines whether or not the victim

needs a shock. If so, a voice warning is given to clear the area around

the victim and the shock is delivered but only after a button is pressed

The AED keeps

monitoring the victim's heart rhythm until EMS personnel can arrive.

For every minute

that goes by without CPR or other intervention, the chances of surviving

a heart attack decrease by 10 percent, said Allen McCullough, deputy chief

of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

While EMS response

times in Fayette County and Peachtree City are still very good, being

able to treat a victim minutes earlier can make a difference in whether

that person survives, McCullough added.

"If victims

can be shocked even two or three minutes before we get there, then the

chances are even greater," McCullough said, adding that the devices

have been proven safe.

Lori Casey,

the church's director of congregational care, said church officials decided

the device was important to have on site.

"We have

had excellent support from our pastoral staff," said Casey, who herself

is a nurse.

Casey noted

that the staff also received training on Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation,

which is used to treat the victim in the first few seconds while the AED

is being retrieved. The church has a congregation of over 2,900 members,

she said.

The staff will

also be put through drills to make sure they are comfortable about just

what to do when the AED is needed, McCullough said.

McCullough

hopes more Fayette churches will see the need for AED devices. Churches

are good locations for AEDs simply because they offer activities day and

night throughout the week, he said.

And for some

people with health difficulties, Sunday service may be one of the few

times they get out of the house, McCullough added.

"It's

not unusual for us to run calls on Sunday to churches, either in the sanctuary

or in the classroom," McCullough said.

Schools are

also a good location to have AEDs because of the large numbers of people

that congregate there, McCullough said.

Cardiovascular

disease is the number one cause of death and disability in Fayette County,

McCullough added.

AEDs are already

located in numerous emergency response vehicles, including some police

cars in the county, McCullough noted. The local chapter of the American

Heart Association also supports the use of AEDs in the county, he added.