CPR? Defibrillation? Shouldn't that be left up to EMS?

In short: No.

Because of the severely limited window to give treatment, many Sudden Cardiac Arrest victims have lost their chance for survival before EMS can arrive to defibrillate. Less than five minutes is optimal to ensure the best chance of survival. Beyond the ten-minute mark, few victims, if any, have a chance to survive.

Paramedics arrive on the scene and defibrillate as quickly as they can, but uncontrollable situations such as distance traveled, traffic and crowds often hold them back. In New York City, for example, average EMS travel time alone (time of dispatch until time of arrival at location) is 12 minutes - too long for a victim of SCA. Even cities with excellent average response travel times, such as Seattle, Washington (seven minutes), or Rochester, Minnesota (six minutes), are not able to consistently meet that crucial five-minute mark.

That's where Law Enforcement, Fire/Rescue or even private citizens come in. If you're a first responder or potentially the first to arrive at an SCA incident, you can provide crucial and possibly life-saving defibrillation prior to EMS services. With the help of an AED, those spared minutes can save a life - significantly more cardiac arrest victims can be saved if responders can give CPR and defibrillation within that short time frame.

In addition, AEDs are useful for those outside the medical profession because they are completely safe and fool-proof from delivering an unneeded shock. You cannot harm a person who is suffering from SCA; you can only help. You never have to worry about accidentally or wrongly shocking a victim, because AEDs are designed to analyze the victim's heart rhythm when the pads are attached and advise a shock only if necessary. If the victim does not need a shock, the machine will not let you give one.

As was stated early, SCA is unpredictable - it could happen anywhere, to anyone, at anytime. So imagine if someone you loved suffered from an SCA incident - they could be saved by anyone with a shock from an AED.

Learn even more about AEDs and Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Continue on or click any of the links below to go directly to that topic.