Meet the AED

A 12 year-old child recently died on a Walt Disney ride. His father saw him pass out on the rollercoaster. He subsequently took the unconsious child off the ride and performed CPR. By the time paramedics arrived, he was dead. After a thorough investigation, it was determined that there was no bodily injury or mechanical error to the ride. Autopsy results showed that the child had "congenital heart abnormalities".


When a child dies in the PICU, it is undeniably sad and difficult. When a child "suddenly" dies in public, I find that even sadder. Maybe it's because in the hospital we know that we literally did everything possible. The resources and technology to bring someone back to life is only a few feet away if not inches. In the public setting it's a gamble. Not everyone knows CPR. If they do, chances are they aren't doing it right. More importantly, not all public settings have the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). If used correctly, the AED will drastically increase a victim's chance for survival.

What is the AED? Over the past few years, the AED has gained some media attention. Mostly you can find them in airports, airplanes, malls, pools, and some schools. Ever see 'ER'? Remember when they "shock" a dying patient on the gurney? The AED is a MUCH simpler version of that. User-friendly for the lay public. Those certified in CPR have seen them.

Why use the AED? Shocking as it may sound, CPR doesn't save a life, it preserves a life. When someone suddenly collapses in public, your first instinct is do CPR. When the paramedics arrive, they take over because they have the resources and skills to deal with what is going on. But what the public doesn't now is that when someone suddenly collapses in public and is unconsious, chances are that there is something seriously wrong. In both children and adults, most likely it is their heart. I believe that CPR only preserves a life because when you are doing CPR on someone you are theoretically squeezing their heart so that blood can circulate to the brain. It minimizes the risk of brain damage and buys time until someone calls 911 and the paramedics come. But CPR does not fix the underlying problem; however, the AED will. The AED saves a life because the problem is fixed sooner.

What does the AED do? The heart is a complex muscle. It pumps blood to and from the heart through synchronized contractions. Normally, it can withstand day-to-day stresses...it just pumps a little faster. However, in cases of kids and adults with underlying "congenital heart defects", the rhythmic motion of the heart can be thrown off with enough stress. In this case, the child was on a rollercoaster and was probably screaming, scared, and yelling. His heart literally went "haywire" on the ride and mostly likely caused him to pass out from the lack of blood pumping to his brain.

His father did the right thing by initiating CPR, but the amusement park should have had an AED available. Maybe they did and that piece of information didn't reach the media, but I can't speculate. But there have been numerous deaths on these rides!

The AED literally resets (or reboots the heart for you IT peeps) the electrical activity of the heart by shooting several hundred joules of electricity through the chest. The heart is then shocked back into it's rhythmic movements. Blood can now flow normally through the body.

How do you use the AED? It's very simple to use. Three steps and that's it. The machine even talks you through each of the three steps.

Step1: Place pads on patient as illustrated.

Step2: Charge machine by pressing the flashing button.

Step3: Release the charge by pressing the other flashing button. Resume CPR.

And that's it! My intention for this blog was to introduce you to the AED and to highlight it's importance. By no means was this to teach you how to use it. If anything, I wanted to convince you to take a CPR class and learn it the right way.

AEDs are designed for the public to use in emergencies. If you aren't certified in CPR, you should be. If you aren't familiar with AEDs you should be. Next time you go to the mall or the airport, look alongside the walls and you just might see an AED right next to the fire extinguisher.

To find the nearest CPR class in your area, click here.