SILVERDALE – A new smart phone app is now available to give Kitsap County residents the ability to save a life. The PulsePoint app notifies CPR-trained citizens of nearby cardiac arrests. The app is accessible now in Kitsap County.

PulsePoint is integrated into the county’s 911 system and alerts CPR-trained bystanders in the immediate vicinity of a public cardiac emergency so they can get to the scene and start CPR in the critical minutes before emergency medical teams arrive.

The American Heart Association estimates that CPR performed effectively by a bystander can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. Unfortunately only about one quarter of sudden cardiac arrest victims receive CPR from a bystander.

“Each year upwards of a quarter of a million persons receive attempted resuscitation from cardiac arrest by emergency medical services,” said Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue firefighter-paramedic Kevin Bernt.

“The prognosis for the majority of these arrests remains poor. Quality CPR started as soon as possible, and early Automated External Defibrillator application, is a means to improve survival from cardiac arrest.”

The PulsePoint app also alerts bystanders to any nearby public access automated external defibrillators, or AED – a tool proven critical to surviving a cardiac emergency.

Kitsap County is the first community in Western Washington to utilize this app. Clark and Spokane Counties are already utilizing it. PulsePoint has been made possible in Kitsap County through a partnership with the Harrison Medical Center Foundation and a project called “Touching Hearts Saving Lives.” This $1 million donor-funded initiative is aimed at improving cardiac arrest survival through key investments in our community, the EMS system and Harrison Medical Center.

David Veterane, board member of the Harrison Foundation, personally funded the implementation of PulsePoint.

“Deployment of this technology is a wonderful opportunity to empower individuals so they can make a significant contribution to the well-being of our community by increasing the odds of surviving a heart attack,” said Veterane.

“It was, for me, a must-have deployment.”

“Bystanders can save lives by giving CPR and using an AED at the scene before EMS arrives,” said Satya Pulukurthy, medical director, cardiovascular catheterization lab at Harrison Medical Center.

“We are excited to have PulsePoint. It will help bring the right people and the right equipment to the right place at the right time. This early intervention can influence the result for a patient once they are admitted to the hospital and can be the difference between life and death for that person.”

To get the PulsePoint app, go to www.pulsepoint.org/download or simply search for PulsePoint in the Apple App Store or on Google Play.