Carlson Hotels Installing Medtronic Automated External Defibrillators at Select Hotels in United States to Help Conquer Sudden Cardiac Arrest

The company has implemented a strategy to install LIFEPAK® CR Plus AEDs at all of its owned and managed U.S. hotels. Carlson is also encouraging its licensed and franchised hotel owners and operators to install the devices at their properties for its five hotel brands: Regent International Hotels, Radisson Hotels & Resorts, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson and Park Inn hotels. The AED program at the Carlson owned and managed hotels provides not only for installation of equipment, but also ongoing training and maintenance to ensure long-term use of the devices. According to the device's manufacturer, Medtronic Physio-Control, this is the largest enterprise-wide AED initiative of any hotel company in the world.

"We are truly honored to be part of such a life-saving initiative and applaud Carlson's commitment to the safety of its guests and employees," said Robert White, president of Medtronic Physio-Control. "Not everyone can be saved from SCA, but we do know that increased access to early defibrillation can help save thousands of lives a year."

Medtronic Physio-Control has designed its AEDs to be used to treat victims of SCA and the devices have become sophisticated enough to be used by minimally trained users.

"AEDs have become so easy to use that we feel it simply makes sense to install them at as many of our hotels as possible to further ensure the safety of our hotel guests and employees," said Trudy Rautio, president of Carlson Hotels Worldwide in the Americas. "By installing AEDs at our owned and managed hotels, we hope our franchisees will follow our lead and join in the installation of AEDs at our other hotel properties to help increase survival for our guests who are struck by SCA while visiting our hotels. Before the AED installation, there was nothing we could do for a cardiac arrest victim until Emergency Services arrives. Now we have the equipment to, hopefully, make the difference between life and death."

Guests of some hotels within the Carlson portfolio, such as the Radisson Hotel Cambridge (Massachusetts), have already experienced the life-saving benefits of having an AED on the premises.

"We decided to purchase an AED for the Radisson Hotel Cambridge late last year after losing a long-term associate to a heart attack," said Jim Harvey, general manager. "On New Year's Eve--shortly after the installation--an elderly gentlemen went into cardiac arrest on the dance floor. Because we made the prior decision to install the AED, the device was deployed in a timely manner and the guest's life was saved. We encourage all of our fellow Carlson hotels to learn from our experience and install an AED before it is needed by a guest or hotel employee."

Every year, SCA strikes up to 450,000 people in the U.S. alone, and as many as one million people worldwide. Most of them will die, many of them needlessly.

According to the American Heart Association, SCA survival rates decrease by about 7 to 10 percent with every passing minute before defibrillation is administered.

SCA is usually caused by an electrical malfunction of the heart called ventricular fibrillation (VF)—an ineffective quivering of the heart muscle that makes it unable to pump blood through the body. Once the blood stops circulating, a person quickly loses consciousness and the ability to breathe. Defibrillation is the only definitive treatment for this condition.

Unlike the models of defibrillators intended for use by healthcare professionals, AEDs do not require extensive medical knowledge to understand or operate. The expertise needed to analyze the heart's electrical function is programmed into the device, enabling trained nonmedical professionals to respond to cardiac emergencies.

The fully automatic LIFEPAK CR Plus AEDs, manufactured by Medtronic Physio-Control of Redmond, Wash., provides clear voice prompts that instruct the user to attach electrodes and then stay clear while the device analyzes the patient's heart rhythm. If the AED's computer algorithm determines the patient's heart is in a shockable rhythm, the user is again prompted to remain clear of the patient while the defibrillation shock is delivered.

For more information on sudden cardiac arrest or automated external defibrillators, visit .

Minneapolis-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide, part of Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, includes five hotel brands, totaling 885 hotels in 67 countries. Hotel brands include: Regent International Hotels, one of the most respected brands in the luxury segment of the lodging industry; Radisson Hotels & Resorts®, one of the world's leading upscale hotel companies with more than 450 locations in 61 countries; Park Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, positioned in the mid-scale segment of the full-service hotel category, has 35 hotels globally and is known for its great value and customer-focused service culture; Country Inns & Suites By Carlson®, one of the fastest growing, mid-tier lodging chains with over 324 locations offering excellent value with upgraded services and amenities; and Park Inn®, with 68 hotels worldwide, is a unique emerging hotel brand offering a relaxed environment in the economy category and is poised for aggressive global growth. Provisions® is the company's worldwide procurement division.