How to use an AED in a cardiac emergency

A step-by-step guide on how to use an automated external defibrillator, which is simple to use and critical in a crisis

11:35 AM

Author | Beata Mostafavi

How to Use an AED to Save a Life in a Cardiac Emergency | Anyone Can Do It
An easy step-by-step guide on how to use an AED in a cardiac emergency. Siani Johnson, Chris Hedley and Bob Felts, Michigan Medicine

Every minute counts during cardiac arrest.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, coach or bystander, learning how to use an automated external defibrillator, or AED, can help save a life at school, an athletic event, work or anywhere an emergency happens.

Three things Jeff Zampi, M.D., pediatric cardiologist at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, wants people to know: anyone can use an AED, it can’t hurt you or the person who needs it and using the device is much simpler than you may think.

Importantly, AEDs provide clear voice instructions and will only deliver a shock if it’s needed.

In this video, Zampi provides a step-by-step guide on how to use the lifesaving device and explains what to expect in a cardiac emergency.

More than 350,000 people of all ages experience an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest in the United States annually, with many of these cases resulting in death before reaching the hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Early CPR and quick access to an AED significantly improve the chances of survival.

“You don’t have to be a doctor to save a life,” Zampi said. “Knowing where an AED is and being willing to use it can make all the difference.”

Sign up for Health Lab newsletters today. Get medical tips from top experts and learn about new scientific discoveries every week.

Sign up for the Health Lab Podcast. Add us wherever you listen to your favorite shows.  

More Articles About:

 C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Children's Health Congenital Heart Disease Cardiovascular: Preventive Cardiology Congestive Heart Failure Sudden Cardiac Arrest Cardiovascular: Diseases & Conditions Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) Pediatric Health Conditions Heart Health
Health Lab word mark overlaying blue cells

Health Lab

Explore thousands of health news & research stories by visiting the Health Lab homepage for more.

Media Contact
University Hospital at U-M Health in the spring with flowering trees in foreground and Survival Flight helicopter visible

Public Relations

Department of Communication at Michigan Medicine

[email protected]

734-764-2220

In This Story
Jeffrey Zampi

Jeffrey Zampi, MD

Clinical Professor

Related
heart beating large with lines through and woman next to it holding chest
Health Lab

Are schools and communities prepared for cardiac emergencies in teens?

National poll suggests many schools, families and communities may not be fully prepared to respond to cardiac emergencies in teens.
Health Lab

How lifesaving care after teen’s sudden cardiac arrest made motherhood possible years later

Once revived after a sudden cardiac arrest at soccer practice as a teenager, a woman returns to the same care team more than a decade later to safely grow her family.

Stay Informed

Want top health & research news weekly? Sign up for Health Lab’s newsletters today!

Subscribe

Featured News & Stories

 A group of costumed med students sing together outside an Ann Arbor storefront.
Philanthropy News

Galens Tag Days celebrates 100 years of helping kids

University of Michigan Medical Students are celebrating the 100th annual Galens Tag Days fundraiser for Washtenaw County children’s organizations.
 Young boy in purple t-shirt sits smiling in the grass on a sunny day.
Health Lab

From 20 seizures a day to more time for play: How personalized epilepsy care helped young patient

Advanced genetic testing and a detailed diagnosis revealed infant’s rare epilepsy, leading to a non-conventional therapy.
 Family of four poses with plain gray background behind them.
Health Lab

Type 1 diabetes does not mean sitting out for 10 year old

After an influenza infection, 8-year-old was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Read his journey from diagnosis to thriving with T1D.
 Closeup of newborn baby, whose head is held by a blue medical gloved hand. Blue gloved hand also holds a stethoscope to baby's chest.
Health Lab

More babies with hypoplastic left heart syndrome surviving critical period between surgeries

Collaborative effort helped sustain improvements in survival for babies born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a serious congenital heart condition that requires multiple surgeries.
 A smartphone displaying a red heart with a white EKG line on its screen, set against a teal background.
Health Lab

Mobile health app improves heart failure medication use, dosing after hospitalization

A U-M-led trial found a mobile app improved use and dosing of recommended heart failure medications during the 90 days following a hospital discharge.
 Boy in white t-shirt, just chin showing, with hands holding a stethoscope on his chest.
Health Lab

Distance, insurance, social factors may hinder access to lifesaving heart monitoring for children

New research suggests that social, economic and geographic factors may influence whether patients who undergo the Fontan surgery for complex congenital heart disease receive the recommended lifelong cardiac monitoring.