Static automated external defibrillators for opportunistic use by bystanders
KCE Reports 294 (2017)
In Belgium, around 9000 people are stricken each year by an unexpected cardiac arrest, of which 17 to 30% in public areas. Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) installed everywhere should allow the witnesses of such situations to deliver an electric shock as quickly as possible in order to restore the rhythm of the heart. Should we therefore place more AEDs in public areas? After having analyzed the (scarce) data available, we had to face the facts: the impact of these devices on the mortality for cardiac arrest will be limited, on the one hand because the majority of cardiac arrests occur at home, and on the other hand, because the public is not sufficiently inclined to intervene and because it is difficult to locate existing devices. Since the publication of this report, it has been decided that the “First Aid” will now be taught in schools in the French Community. In Flanders, the project is still under discussion.
How to refer to this report