Washington
For the first time consumers can purchase a defibrillator — which can help shock a heart into restarting — without a prescription.
The Food and Drug Admini-stration recently approved over-the-counter sales of the HeartStart Home Defibrillator, manufactured by Andover, Mass.-based Philips Medical Systems, after determining that the average person could use the product safely without supervision. The device, which gives the heart an electrical charge during cardiac arrest, was previously only available to the public with a prescription.
To make sure the device is used appropriately, HeartStart takes a reading of the patient's heart and guides users with a machine-generated voice.
The American Heart Association recommends that consumers who purchase a device get formal training. Philips expects to sell 20,000 machines, currently priced at $1,995, next year.
