An AED is a device about the size of a laptop computer that analyzes the heart's rhythm for any abnormalities and, if necessary, directs the rescuer to deliver an electrical shock to the victim. This shock, called defibrillation, may help the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm of its own.

In the time it takes you to read this information, sudden cardiac arrest will have claimed another victim. Statistics show that more than 200,000 Americans die of sudden cardiac arrest every year. Up to 50,000 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.

To learn more about AED's please visit the American Red Cross' website http://www.redcross.org

To review recent stories of lives saved with AED's please visit http://aed.com/survivor

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