AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR (AED)
What is an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)?
Automated External Defibrillators are specialized medical devices designed to recognize and treat certain lethal heart rhythms in the setting of a cardiac arrest. AEDs deliver an electrical shock to persons in ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. AEDs provide auditory and visual prompts to assist first responders in treating a cardiac arrest. AEDs have been shown to decrease mortality when used by trained persons and used in conjunction with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Why does a person having a heart attack need an AED?
When a heart attack becomes a full cardiac arrest, the heart most often goes into uncoordinated electric activity called fibrillation. The heart twitches ineffectively and cannot pump blood. The AED delivers electric current to the heart muscle, momentarily stunning the heart, stopping all activity. This gives the heart an opportunity to resume beating effectively.
How will I know if someone is in cardiac arrest?
Cardiac Arrest is when the heart stops beating and there is a sudden loss of responsiveness; no response to gentle shaking; no normal breathing. The victim does not take a normal breath when you check for several seconds and there are no signs of circulation, no movement or coughing.
Will an AED always resuscitate someone in cardiac arrest?
The AED treats only a heart that is in ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. In other cardiac arrest situations, the heart does not respond to electric current but needs medications and breathing support instead. Also, AEDs are less successful when the victim has been in cardiac arrest for longer than a few minutes, especially if no CPR was provided.
Is an AED safe to use?
An AED is safe to use by anyone who has been trained to operate it. AED/CPR training that is recommended by the American Heart Association for employee volunteers; these trained volunteers become members of their building’s AED Response Team.
Who are the members of the AED response teams?
In most cases, the AED Response Team is made up of employee volunteers who receive training in AED and CPR skills. An employee also serves as the AED Site Coordinator, with responsibility for overseeing the program in his/her building, conducting quarterly refresher training and mock drills.
Will employee volunteer responders be protected from liability?
The Cardiac Arrest Survival Act (CASA), part of the Public Health Improvement Act signed in November 2000, provides nation wide Good Samaritan protection that exempts from liability anyone who renders emergency treatment with a defibrillator to save someone’s life. There are certain requirements in order to be covered under this law. In general, employees will be protected from liability if they are appropriately trained and use the AED according to their agency’s AED protocols. There have been no known lawsuits against lay rescuers.
How do I alert the response team if I see someone in cardiac arrest?
Each building will have specific instructions that employees will follow to alert the AED Response Team of an emergency. These instructions, also known as a protocol, will be shared with all employees in the building. If you are in a building that does not have the AED program implemented, you should follow your usual emergency procedures by calling 911.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
