Is Your AED Obsolete?

Warning!  If you purchased an AED before 2005, it may not be compliant with the current American Heart Association (AHA) / European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Guidelines for Resuscitation.  AEDs manufactured prior to 2005 are programmed to perform up to 3 sequences of analyzing and delivering shocks.  This process can take approximately 45 seconds to one minute.  This methodology of defibrillation was found to be less effective because CPR cannot be performed during this time.  Current guidelines require a pause in CPR to be less than 10 seconds.

Depending on the unit you have, a simple software upgrade may be all that is needed.  Units unable to be upgraded must be replaced in order to meet the 2005 guidelines. 

Erik Zalewski, M.S., EMT-CC 

CEO of Have Dummy Will Travel, Inc.