Plano residents have a new way to help save lives through a smartphone app offered by the city.

At a press conference at the Tom Muehlenbeck Recreation Center on April 20, Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere joined staff and first responders for the launch of the city's use of PulsePoint, an app designed to help those trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation provide life-saving assistance to nearby individuals experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.

If the cardiac emergency is occurring in a public place, the app will alert users in that vicinity at the same time advanced medical care is dispatched. The app also uses maps to direct these resident responders to the exact location of the closest publicly accessible automated external defibrillator.

In many cases nationwide, nearby AEDs have not been used when they may have made a difference, according to the city's news release. PulsePoint aims to address this by informing resident rescuers where the nearest AED is located in real-time.

"PulsePoint gives us the ability to alert trained citizens near the area that someone is in cardiac distress; they can then provide CPR until emergency responders can get to the scene," Fire Chief Marty Wade said in the release.

For a video on PulsePoint, visit www.pulsepoint.org/pulsepoint-respond/.