Devices to Help Restart Hearts Urged

President Clinton announced plans Saturday to require U.S. airlines to carry devices to treat heart attack victims with a jolt of electricity.

In his weekly radio address, Clinton also directed the government to report back to him in four months with guidelines on a program for installing the potentially life-saving devices in federal buildings as well.

More than 20,000 lives would be saved annually if the devices, called automated external defibrillators, or AEDS, are installed in planes, federal buildings and other key locations, said Clinton.

“I expect there are very few people listening today who don’t know someone who has been struck down by sudden cardiac arrest,” said Clinton.

Automated external defibrillators are about the same size as a laptop computer and cost about $3,500. They automatically analyze heart rhythms and deliver a shock to restart a heart, using voice commands to lead the rescuer through each step.

Clinton threw his support behind the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act, which would encourage the use of defibrillators by limiting the liability of good Samaritans using them in emergency situations.

The Senate passed the bill last year. Oklahoma Republican J.C. Watts Jr., chairman of the House Republican Conference, predicted passage of the measure by the full House on Tuesday.

The proposed rule would require U.S. airlines to carry the defibrillators on all domestic and international flights. It would require training for flight attendants on using the machines and on cardiopulmonary resuscitation.