This guide contains:

Background on defibrillators
How defibrillators work
How to find the best defibrillator for you

This independent guide was written to help consumers understand the basics of defibrillators, and how to help you find the best defibrillator for you. We do not sell any defibrillators, so you can be confident that all of the information in this guide is independent and unbiased.

Background on defibrillators
When functioning normally, the heart needs organized electrical impulses to contract the muscles and pump blood throughout the body. A cardiac arrest occurs when the electrical system of the heart becomes chaotic and disorganized, and the heart stops contracting. This condition is known as ventricular fibrillation, and the best method to 're-start the heart' is an electric shock to the heart to jolt it back into its regular rhythm (defibrillation). Outside of a hospital environment, this shock can be delivered by non-medical personnel by equipment known as automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

The availability of automated external defibrillators at work, at home, in churches, gyms, restaurants, and other public and private locations is becoming more and more common. This is because defibrillators can mean the difference between life and death in the case of heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrest. A victim's chance of survival drops by about 10% for each minute that medical treatment is delayed, and permanent brain damage can occur in as few as five minutes. About 250,000 people die annually from cardiac arrest, frequently because emergency treatment is simply provided too late. By installing AEDs in homes and other public places where there is a risk of cardiac arrest, these easy-to-use defibrillators are projected to save thousands of lives every year.

How defibrillators work
AEDs are user-friendly, automated devices that typically use voice-prompted commands to direct the operator through the complete operating sequence. To begin, the operator peels adhesive stickers from the backs of two electrodes, and places the electrodes on the bare skin of a victim's chest- one electrode goes over the heart and the other one is attached slightly to the left. The defibrillator will then do an analysis of the victim's heart rhythm, and delivers a shock if it diagnoses a cardiac arrest and determines that a shock may help restart the heart. The electric shocks are the exact same as those delivered by hospital defibrillators, and it is recommended that no one is in contact with the victim during the shock.

NOTE: The American Heart Association (AHA) officially recommends that you call 911, perform CPR, and administer defibrillation in the event that a victim collapses.