AEDs make the earliest possible defibrillation a reality, and the American Heart Association recommends placing these devices in areas where large numbers of people congregate, such as stadiums and gymnasiums. About 250,000 deaths occur annually from sudden cardiac arrest. Most cardiac arrests are due to abnormal heart rhythms called arrhythmias. VF is a condition in which the heart's electrical impulses suddenly become chaotic, often without warning, causing the heart's pumping action to stop abruptly. Death can follow within minutes.
Defibrillation is the key to surviving a cardiac arrest.
If used within minutes of the arrest, it can restore the heart's normal rhythm. But for each minute that passes without defibrillation, the chance of survival decreases by about 10 percent. In the past, the ability to defibrillate rested solely in the hands of emergency medical workers. Today a new generation of AEDs makes it possible for trained lay rescuers to operate them. AEDs are also quite fail-safe.