Automated external defibrillators in public places: an overview.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for adults 40 years of age or greater in the United States and in Puerto Rico. There are approximately 165,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) events every year in the US. Since more than 30 years cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills have saved thousands of lives. The majority of cardiac arrest events occur out of the hospital and without early access to CPR and a defibrillator these patients don't have a chance of survival and the majority will die before reaching the hospital. The development of CPR in the 1960's and the invention of automated external defibrillators (AED) in the 1970's revolutionized the means to approach OHCA victims. For the last 10 years the deployment of AEDs in public locations has been a successful model addressing this major public health concern. This article reviews the role AEDs play in the early management of OHCA victims and why public access defibrillation (PAD) programs are necessary.