What happens to the heart when someone has a sudden cardiac arrest and how does the AED help?
A person who suffers a sudden cardiac arrest will collapse, stop breathing normally and become completely unresponsive. This occurs most commonly because the heart develops an abnormal rhythm called ventricular fibrillation (VF) during which the heart quivers and does not pump blood. If an AED detects a VF cardiac arrest, it can deliver an electric shock to the heart muscle, momentarily stunning the heart and stopping all activity. This gives the heart an opportunity to resume a normal rhythm and again pump blood.
