What is an Automatic or Automated External Defibrillator (AED)?
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are external devices that can be used by minimally trained laypersons in emergency situations. They not only administer an electrical shock in order to restart the heart, but also read the patient’s heart rhythm patterns. This significantly reduces the amount of training needed for their effective use and allows people with minimal training to perform defibrillation in emergency situations with little risk of additional injury to the patient. One study that looked at the usefulness of putting AEDs in Chicago airports found that people were able to revive cardiac arrest patients by using nearby defibrillators, even though they had no training in how to use them. Automatic defibrillation attempts should begin as quickly as possible. For every minute that passes without defibrillation, a victim’s chance of survival decreases by 7 percent to 10 percent. If the heart does not return to a regular rhythm within five to seven minutes of the onset of car
