Automated External Defibrillators

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According to OSHA there are 220,000 victims of sudden cardiac arrest per year in the United States. Of these, about 10,000 sudden cardiac arrests occur in the workplace. Are you prepared to save someone’s life in these instances? Waiting on emergency personnel to arrive only results in a 5-7% survival rate. Studies have shown with immediate defibrillation a 605 survival one year after sudden cardiac arrest.

Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are medical devices designed to analyze the heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to victims of ventricular fibrillation to restore the heart rhythm to normal. Ventricular fibrillation is the uncoordinated heart rhythm most often responsible for sudden cardiac arrest.

Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when ventricular fibrillation takes place or when the heart stops beating altogether. Without medical attention, the victim collapses, loses consciousness, becomes unresponsive, and dies. Many victims have no prior history of heart disease and are stricken without warning.

Reasons for AEDs in the workplace:

  • Onsite AEDs save precious treatment time, and can improve survival odds because they can be used before emergency medical service (EMS) personnel arrive.
  • A heart rhythm in ventricular fibrillation may only be restored to normal by an electric shock.
  • The AED is compact, lightweight, portable, battery operated, safe, and easy to use.

Where should you place AEDs:

  • AEDs should be conveniently installed to ensure response within 3-5 minutes.
  • Areas where many people work closely together, such as assembly lines and office buildings.
  • Health units where workers may seek treatment for heart attack symptoms.
  • Remote sites, such as off-shore drilling rigs, construction projects, marine vessels, power transmission lines, and energy pipe lines.

Disclaimer: The information and suggestions contained in these safety talks are believed to be reliable. However, the authors of the topics and the owners of this web site accept no legal responsibility for the correctness, sufficiency, or completeness of such information or suggestions contained within these topics. These guidelines do not supercede local, state, or federal regulations and must not be construed as a substitute for, or legal interpretation of, any OSHA regulations.