AED - Automatic External Defibrillator

Automated External Defibrillators are an essential tool in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac episodes. AEDs save lives in situations where the patient is experiencing arrhythmia, i.e. when the heart?s electrical activity becomes abnormal, for example when the heart beat is too slow, fast or perhaps irregular. AEDs can deal with problems such as ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia, first by diagnosing the condition, and then by treating it, using defibrillation. Defibrillation is an electrical therapy, which restores a better functioning rhythm to the heart?s beat.

AEDs use a wealth of technological benefits to allow even people who are not health professionals to help save lives in situations where patients may otherwise suffer cardiac arrest. So easy are these machines to use, that their application is taught in many First Aid courses.