Amazon’s voice activated device Alexa may now help save lives. Alexa answers thousands of requests each day about the weather, traffic and other real time information. Now for the first time Alexa will be able to give all instructions for CPR, and warning signs of a heart attack or stroke. The device will convey crucial information to help save someone’s life and help prompt medical attention that could make the difference between life or death, or severe disabilities.
To access this crucial information, all an individual has to do is say “Alexa ask American Heart” to receive accurate science-based information from the American Heart Association (http://news.heart.org). For example, you would ask:
- “Alexa, ask American Heart…how do I perform CPR?”
- “Alexa, ask American Heart…what are the warning signs of a heart attack?”
- “Alexa, ask American Heart…what are the warning signs of a stroke?”
In the United States a stroke occurs every 40 seconds on average each day, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Every day in American 2,200 individuals die from cardiovascular diseases. Cardiac arrest is the cause of more than 350,000 deaths a year in America. Alexa will tell the user to call 911 before proceeding with any instructions since these health issues require urgent treatment by emergency personnel.
The number one seller on Amazon last Christmas was the Alexa Echo device, with over 8 million of the virtual assistants sold to date in the United States. The expectation for sales of both the Amazon Echo and Google Home devices is high for the year 2017, with projections of an additional 4.5 million in sales, according to Consumer Technology Association.
Health care assistance in the home, where 70 percent of cardiac arrests occur, will have a positive impact on survival. Victims of cardiac arrest in the home are only half as likely to survive compared to those individuals in a public place. Often it is due to the inability to receive CPR. Alexa will have the ability to give step-by-step instructions for Hands-Only CPR for a teen or adult who collapse. The American Heart Association instructions will tell an individual to push hard and fast in the center of the chest at the rate of 100 to 120 beats per minute, to the same beat as the classic disco song “Stayin Alive.” The hope is that as people become more accustomed to using virtual assistants like Alexa, that it will become part of the 911 system, and will help better prepare people when a health crisis hits home.
Source: American Heart Association News(heart.org), “Alexa can tell you the steps for CPR, warning signs of heart attack and stroke,” February 2017
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