AED Use
Overview
Objectives
- Recall the definition of an AED.
- Recall the purpose of an AED.
- Recall that an AED will lead you through the steps with audio prompts.
- Recall the need to clear people away from the victim when using an AED.
- Recall the need to continue CPR after the shock is administered if there are still no signs of life.
AED Definition and Purpose
- An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a lightweight, portable device that delivers an electric shock through the chest to the heart.
- Most sudden cardiac arrests result from V-fib, a rapid and unsynchronized heart rhythm in the heart’s lower pumping chambers (the ventricles). The heart must be “defibrillated” quickly because a victim’s chance of surviving drops by 7 to 10 percent for every minute a normal heartbeat is not restored.
- The shock from an AED can stop an irregular rhythm and allow a normal rhythm to resume in a heart in sudden cardiac arrest.
AED Function
- The AED will lead you through the steps with audio prompts.
- Once you attach the electrodes, a built-in computer will check the victim’s heart rhythm and determine if defibrillation is needed.
- If it is, a recorded voice will tell you to clear others from the victim and press the shock button on the AED.
- This shock will momentarily stun the heart and stop all activity to allow the heart the chance to resume beating effectively.