With AED, anyone can save a life
Police officers, sales clerks, teachers, bankers and restaurateurs have more in common than one might think. They can all be trained to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) to save the life of a person having a heart attack. This device, which can be found in malls, movie theaters, and other places where people congregate, sends an electric shock through the chest wall to the heart. Allowing trained laypersons to use one is projected to be the greatest advancement in the treatment of heart attacks since CPR.
"With AEDs, trained laypersons can defibrillate heart attack victims quickly and greatly increase their change of survival while waiting for paramedics to arrive," says Scott Hansen, community education coordinator. Virtua Health provides both AED and CPR training. For information, call 1-888-Virtua-3.