AEDs in Your Workplace

An AED (Automated External Defibrillator) is an electronic device designed to deliver an electric shock to a victim experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. . Ventricular fibrillation, the uncoordinated beating of the heart — which can lead to collapse and death — may be corrected to a normal rhythm up to 60 percent of the time, when treated quickly with an AED. This is referred to as defibrillation.

According to OSHA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, approximately 890 deaths from coronary heart disease occur outside of the hospital or emergency room every day. Most are due to cardiac arrest.  Each year thousands of deaths occur in the workplace, the leading cause of which is heart attack and cardiac arrest. Many of these deaths could be prevented if an AED was available.



An AED in the workplace can provide the critical, timely and necessary treatment that could save a life, if someone in your organization were experiencing a cardiac arrest.  AED’s are easy to use. According to an article this month in Bizjournals.com, in mock cardiac arrest situations, untrained sixth grade students were able to use an AED without difficulty.