Public AEDs Double Survival of Cardiac Arrest Patients

A large multicity study has found that deploying automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places and training people how to use them can double the chance that victims of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) will survive.

Currently, 95% of SCA victims die before reaching the hospital, due to the length of time it takes for emergency medical personnel to arrive on the scene. The chance of survival is reduced by 10% for every minute spent waiting for a life-saving defibrillation shock.

About 20,000 volunteers took part in the study, in which half were taught to use AEDs and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the balance to perform only CPR. Around 1,500 automated defibrillators were placed in more than 990 public facilities, including office buildings, factories, airports, shopping centers, and sports venues in 24 cities. During the two-year study, 124 cardiac arrests occurred in public facilities where an AED was available, and 31% of those people survived vs only 17% of the 86 arrests that occurred in venues where only conventional responses, CPR and a call to 911, were available. The results of the study showed almost a two-fold chance of surviving SCA after use of an AED, confirming the benefits found in a small, earlier study.

The study was conducted by the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the American Heart Association (AMA). The AED devices were provided by Cardiac Science (Irvine, CA, USA), and the study results were reported in the August 12, 2004, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.




Related Links:
U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
American Heart Association