What is an AED?
An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a safe, easy-to-use, portable device that can deliver a shock to a person in cardiac arrest, if needed to restart their heart.
If someone suddenly collapses, loses consciousness, is unresponsive to touch or sound, and is not breathing or not breathing normally, sounds, that person is in cardiac arrest. Their heart has stopped beating, and blood is no longer flowing to the brain and other vital organs. Nine in 10 cardiac arrests that occur outside of a hospital setting will result in death without immediate intervention.
But you can help save a life if you respond quickly and take these actions.
- Call 9-1-1 for help and shout for an AED.
- Start CPR right away.
- Use an AED as soon as one is available.
Doing CPR – chest compressions and rescue breaths – helps circulate blood and oxygen to the brain and other vital organs to a person in cardiac arrest but it doesn’t restart the heart. But an AED can. The portable device can deliver a shock to the person’s heart, if it’s needed to resume its natural rhythm.
60,000
out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen each year in Canada.
An AED is easy to use
Anyone can use an AED. You don't have to be a medical professional.
The device is smart – it will only administer an electrical shock to a heart that needs it. You cannot hurt the person, you can only help!
Cardiac arrest can strike anyone, anywhere, anytime, at any age, often without warning. Each year in Canada, an estimated 60,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of hospital setting - that is one every nine minutes. If you perform CPR and use an AED on a person in cardiac arrest, their chance of survival can double.
AEDs may look different but they work the same
AEDs are available in various models, but they all operate in fundamentally the same way. You can use an AED by following three basic steps:
- Turn the power on. Either open the lid or press the power button. All AEDs give voice prompts. They also display clear, simple visual instructions.
- Attach the AED pads to the bare chest of the person in cardiac arrest. There will be an illustration on the AED pads; place the pads exactly as shown in the pictures.
- Press the shock button if the voice prompt tells you to. If no shock is advised, continue doing CPR until emergency medical services arrive.
Restarting more hearts in Canada
Since 2010, Heart & Stroke, together with funding partners, has placed more than 15,000 AEDs in communities across Canada. Our nationwide network of 9,000+ resuscitation instructors continues to train hundreds of thousands of Canadians each year – from members of the general public to healthcare and emergency services professionals in CPR and AED use. But more work needs to be done because too many lives are still being lost to cardiac arrest.
Our goals are:
- increasing the cardiac arrest survival rate,
- increasing bystander CPR and AED use, and
- improving outcomes for those impacted by cardiac arrest including survivors, lay responders and families.
Learn more about our Restart a Heart initiative
