- In the past year 250,000 Americans died of sudden cardiac arrest: nearly one death every two minutes.
- Up to 100,000 of these deaths could have been prevented if someone had initiated the Cardiac Chain of Survival and an automated external defibrillator (AED) had been available for immediate use at the time of the emergency.
- 9 out of 10 people will die without early access to defibrillation.
- Every minute it takes EMS to arrive, the person's chance of survival goes down 10%.
- The national survival rate on the average is 5%.
- In areas where early access defibrillation programs were put into effect, such as Seattle, Washington, the survival rate jumped to 30-40%.
What is an AED?
An AED is a small portable device that delivers a shock to the heart of someone suffering from cardiac arrest -- a condition in which the heart stops beating. These lifesaving devices prompt the rescuer verbally and visually along, step-by-step, and will tell the rescuer exactly when to deliver a shock if necessary.
How can Red Cross Help Purchase an AED?
To help the Red Cross meet its mission of saving lives, agreements have been established with AED manufacturers to allow Red Cross chapters the opportunity to facilitate the purchase of AED units and provide CPR and AED training to AED purchasers.
As a nonprofit organization, all revenue generated from classes and from the sales of AEDs stay in the community and goes to support other programs like disaster relief, youth programs, HIV/AIDS education, programs for the elderly, and more.
