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On September 21 last year, the 51-year-old from Sarpsborg sat in the secretariat of a sports hall in Sweden.
His son played bandy in the city of Vänersborg, north of Gothenburg.
A woman abruptly bursts in. You are desperately looking for a defibrillator. A girl has fallen during cheerleading practice in the neighboring hall.
There was a defibrillator at the other end of the hall, but it was behind a closed door.
Geir, who is a trained nurse, reacted instinctively.
– I had mine in the car and realized it would take less time to collect. We ran into the hall where the girl was. So I calculated that it must have been between five and six minutes since he fell, says Kåsa.
SALVADOR: Geir Kåsa is a nurse and is active in the Red Cross. He reacted instinctively when it mattered most. Photo: Private
Dramatic acts
The 51-year-old man connects the girl to the defibrillator and applies it immediately.
They get a pulse.
Two minutes later, the heart stops again. Geir is shocked again. This time no answer.
In dramatic minutes, they work diligently with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The firefighters and the ambulance arrive at the scene. By using the defibrillator, they finally managed to live in Lisa, who was 14 at the time.
Geir was in the right place at the right time. Due to his life-saving efforts, he was recently named “Sarping of the Year” under the auspices of Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad.
Lisa survived thanks to her determination and knowledge. But far from everyone they would react equally.
- Every year, 3,700 people in this country go into cardiac arrest outside of hospitals.
- Around ten people are affected every day, but only one or two survive.
- According to the Norwegian cardiac arrest registry, someone had started CPR before an ambulance arrived at the scene in 85 percent of cases last year. It is the highest in the world.
- 392 people survived cardiac arrest outside of hospitals for at least 30 days last year. In 34 cases, the patients had received a shock from a defibrillator and had already been revived when the ambulance arrived.
- This is a 50 percent increase compared to 2018.
Concerned experts
Friday is the World Heart and Lung Rescue Day. In this sense, a recent survey is published that worries experts.
On behalf of the Gjensidige Foundation, NorStat has contacted 3,000 respondents.
The survey reveals that 60 percent would not use defibrillators, even if one were in the immediate vicinity.
– Using a defibrillator is as easy as using a vacuum cleaner. Half can survive cardiac arrest if they have a shock within three minutes, says chief physician Conrad A. Bjørshol at Stavanger University Hospital (SUS).
He runs the national first aid charity “Together We Save Lives” and knows more about CPR than most.
Now the superior gives a blow to make the use of defibrillators harmless.
CONCERNED: SUS chief physician Conrad A. Bjørshol explains that a defibrillator is as easy to use as a vacuum cleaner. Photo: Svein Lunde / Health Stavanger
– Life is wasted unnecessarily
It happens often. Every year, just under 4,000 people go into cardiac arrest outside a hospital in Norway.
On average, about ten people are affected every day, but only one or two survive. There is room for improvement here, create the top one.
Currently 6,000 pacemakers have been registered outside Norwegian hospitals. A quick phone call to the VET center is all that is needed.
– It is of little use to invest, place and register thousands of defibrillators if more than half of us do not dare to use them at the time of doing so. Then we run the risk of completely unnecessary loss of lives, says Bjørshol.
Because it is not very complicated.
Defibrillators provide voice guidance on how to use them and can also be used by people who have not attended courses.
– If you call 113, experienced nurses will guide you through the process until the ambulance arrives, says Bjørshol.
Among the best in the world
At the same time, it is important for experts to emphasize that there is positive development to follow.
Each year, the Norwegian cardiac arrest registry keeps statistics on how many people survive.
According to the registry, someone had started CPR before the ambulance arrived in 85 percent of cases in 2019.
It is higher than in any other record of cardiac arrest in the world, explains Jo Kramer-Johansen, professor and chief physician of anesthesia at the medical ambulance in Oslo.
– This is a very positive development and indicates that the measures of the contribution “Together we save lives” give results, he says.
– In practice, this means that every twelfth person who survived cardiac arrest in 2019 came from this small group where someone close to them wanted and could use a defibrillator. This constitutes a small bus full of people.
Mikael (14) suffered cardiac arrest on the soccer field; his friends saved his life
I stayed with Lisa’s mother
Five weeks after Geir Kåsa saved Lisa’s life, they met again. Later, doctors discovered that he had genetic heart disease.
Now they have operated on a defibrillator.
The icing on the cake in this sunny story is that he found the tone with Lisa’s mother.
– It’s quite special. Now we live together, he says.
The 51-year-old encourages people to understand how easy it is to use defibrillators.
– If you can use a cell phone, you can use a defibrillator. It is impossible to make mistakes, he says.
