Automated External Defibrillators

While working out at the gym or shopping at the grocery store, you’ve probably seen a box attached to a wall with a heart-shaped symbol and a lightning bolt.

It’s an AED, or automated external defibrillator, and that small device plays a large role in helping save the lives of people who are in cardiac arrest.

More than 350,000 people go into cardiac arrest each year outside of hospitals, according to the American Heart Association. The survival rate is only about 10 percent, but when an AED is used, those odds improve significantly.

Are you thinking of introducing an automated external defibrillator (AED) program within your organization or simply thinking through a review to make sure you still have an effective program? A robust, well-planned AED program should begin with an effective site assessment.