# Automated external defibrillator (AED) Technology · id `cardio:automated-external-defibrillator` · Cardiovascular Atlas · release `5dcd9b263fe17744` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Also called: AED Browse, condition area: Acute care and long-term living ## In plain language An AED is a portable defibrillator that tells the person using it what to do and can give a shock that may restart a healthy heart rhythm. A US government health page says AEDs are placed in public settings such as stadiums, transport stations, schools and offices, and that people with no training can use one in an emergency, although training helps. In a trial of trained lay volunteers in community units, units whose volunteers were trained in AED use as well as CPR had more survivors to hospital discharge than units trained in CPR only. ## Technical summary The same page describes the AED as a type of portable defibrillator and says providers sometimes recommend keeping one at home for a person at high risk of cardiac arrest. The public-access defibrillation trial (PubMed 15306665) randomized community units to volunteers trained in CPR alone or CPR plus AED; the AED units had 30 survivors among 128 arrests against 15 among 107 (relative risk 2.0, 95% CI 1.07 to 3.77), and only 2 survivors in residential complexes. One over-the-counter AED line was first cleared through 510(k) in 2002 and 2004. The US regulator's final order of 29 January 2015 made premarket approval necessary for class III AEDs already marketed in the pre-amendment category (product codes NSA and MKJ), and that line was approved through PMA P160029 on 2019-06-06 (openFDA: device class 3, regulation number 870.5310). MeSH D047548 (Defibrillators) is wider than AEDs and is stored as a broad match. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests treated in community units with trained lay volunteers (public-access defibrillation trial) Recipient: Recipient not specified; Population: People with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in 993 community units (for example shopping malls and apartment complexes) in 24 North American regions, where trained lay volunteers responded. The abstract counts 128 treated arrests in the AED units and 107 in the CPR-only units; 70 percent of arrests were in a public location.; Care setting: Community units with a structured, monitored emergency-response system staffed by trained lay volunteers (more than 19,000 took part); later ambulance and hospital care is not described in the abstract.; Geography: 24 North American regions (abstract wording).; Life stage: The abstract gives a mean age of 69.8 years for treated patients and sets no age limits.; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: The abstract gives the primary outcome (survival to hospital discharge) and no follow-up period. ### In a prospective, community-based, multicenter trial of public-access defibrillation, community units such as shopping malls and apartment complexes were randomly assigned to a structured, monitored emergency-response system in which lay volunteers were trained either in CPR alone or in CPR plus the use of an AED. More than 19,000 volunteer responders from 993 community units in 24 North American regions took part. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Among treated out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, there were more survivors to discharge in units assigned to CPR plus AED volunteers (30 survivors among 128 arrests) than in units assigned to CPR-only volunteers (15 among 107; P=0.03; relative risk 2.0, 95 percent confidence interval 1.07 to 3.77). There were only 2 survivors in residential complexes. Functional status at hospital discharge did not differ between the groups, and no inappropriate shocks were delivered. The authors conclude that training and equipping volunteers to attempt early defibrillation within a structured response system can increase the number of survivors after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in public locations. - Category: Effect - Evidence stage: Interventional - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Recipient not specified; Population: People with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in 993 community units (for example shopping malls and apartment complexes) in 24 North American regions, where trained lay volunteers responded. The abstract counts 128 treated arrests in the AED units and 107 in the CPR-only units; 70 percent of arrests were in a public location.; Care setting: Community units with a structured, monitored emergency-response system staffed by trained lay volunteers (more than 19,000 took part); later ambulance and hospital care is not described in the abstract.; Geography: 24 North American regions (abstract wording).; Life stage: The abstract gives a mean age of 69.8 years for treated patients and sets no age limits.; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: The abstract gives the primary outcome (survival to hospital discharge) and no follow-up period. - Limitations: Abstract of the 2004 report only; the full text was not read (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts). The units, not the patients, were randomized, and the abstract counts survivors among treated arrests without giving survival percentages. The benefit reported is for arrests in public locations; the abstract reports only 2 survivors in residential complexes. The volunteers were trained and worked in a structured, monitored response system, so the result does not show what happens when untrained bystanders use an AED. Functional status at discharge did not differ. PubMed lists no erratum for this record. - Last checked: 2026-10-15 - Sources: 1. Background: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, BACKGROUND, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Background stated in the abstract. 2. Background: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, BACKGROUND, sentence 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Background stated in the abstract. 3. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, METHODS, sentence 1, fragment 1 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Design, population or outcome definition in the abstract. 4. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, METHODS, sentence 1, fragment 2 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Design, population or outcome definition in the abstract. 5. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, METHODS, sentence 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Design, population or outcome definition in the abstract. 6. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Result stated in the abstract. 7. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Result stated in the abstract. 8. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 3, fragment 1 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Result stated in the abstract. 9. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 3, fragment 2 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Result stated in the abstract. 10. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 4. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Result stated in the abstract. 11. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 5, fragment 1 of 3. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Result stated in the abstract. 12. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 5, fragment 2 of 3. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Result stated in the abstract. 13. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 5, fragment 3 of 3. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Result stated in the abstract. 14. Supports: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 6. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: Result stated in the abstract. 15. Background: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, CONCLUSIONS, sentence 1, fragment 1 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: The authors' conclusion in the abstract. 16. Background: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, CONCLUSIONS, sentence 1, fragment 2 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: The authors' conclusion in the abstract. 17. Background: Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) fetched 2026-10-15 through NCBI E-utilities. No PMC copy is listed. The full text and the version of record were not fetched (NEJM pages return HTTP 403 to scripts).) Locator: Abstract, CONCLUSIONS, sentence 2. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:48:59Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 876e36575428bfd3fc70e2bfaf9fb21f3e5cd186d3befcc7cc0be0b99ce19308. How it applies: The authors' conclusion in the abstract. ## Connected pages - Lay-responder programs with AEDs in a public-access trial: Sudden cardiac arrest (`cardio:sudden-cardiac-arrest`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-pad-lay-aed-survival` and its context] - Filed under this front: Emergency and acute care (`cardio:front-emergency-and-acute-care`) - Required by: Deliver AEDs by drone before the ambulance arrives (`cardio:idea-drone-aed-delivery`) - Used by: HeartStart OnSite and Home defibrillators (`cardio:heartstart-onsite-home`) ## Provenance Content hash: 2efb17851738038782921ce9890670555d80cdea6a418de02b7915739614f327 Last substantive edit: 2026-10-15 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-15