This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Spanish PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • JAMA Patient Page  • Arrhythmias  • Alert me on articles by topic

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Many sudden cardiac emergencies are related to ventricular fibrillation (a fatal abnormal heart rhythm). Defibrillation, done by "shocking" the heart with a measured dose of electricity, may allow the heart to resume a functional rhythm. Defibrillation is the only effective treatment for ventricular fibrillation. If defibrillation is applied early in the rescue sequence, persons experiencing a cardiac arrest have improved chances of survival.

Traditional manual defibrillators are available in emergency care response vehicles, hospitals, and other health care facilities but require life support training for their proper and safe use. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are small (laptop computerosized) units that have the capability to analyze the heart rhythm, determine if a shock should be given, then deliver the appropriate electrical therapy. This requires little training on the part of the responder and can easily be used by laypersons. The August 9, 2006, issue of JAMA includes an article about . . . [Full Text of this Article]

USE OF AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS

Janet M. Torpy, MD, Writer; Cassio Lynm, MA, Illustrator; Richard M. Glass, MD, Editor

RELATED ARTICLE

Recalls and Safety Alerts Affecting Automated External Defibrillators
Jignesh S. Shah and William H. Maisel
JAMA. 2006;296(6):655-660.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT