Workplaces that are serious about protecting the health of their employees are investing in AED, which is an automated external defibrillator. This is an important piece of emergency equipment that all workplaces should have on hand. Having access to an AED can make all the difference in treatment and recovery if someone's heart stops pumping while at work.

What An AED Does

An AED is a portable device that can be used to determine and find if someone who is unconscious has a heart rhythm. The device, using pads, analyzes if someone has a heart rhythm and if they need to be shocked. The device lets you know if the injured party needs to be shocked and can deliver shocks if necessary to restart the injured party's heart rhythm.

AED Are Approved Devices

AED are an approved device that have passed rigorous testing by the Food and Drug Administration. In order to earn the approval of the Food and Drug Administration, the device has to be shown to be safe for people to use and to have positive outcomes. These are not an experimental medical device, and they should be found in all workplaces, schools, and public buildings.

The AED Will Provide You With Directions

Although it is best to have training on how to properly use an AED, if you have never used an AED before, the device will provide you with both visual and audio instructions. It will tell you where to place the pads on the victims, when to remove your hands from the victim, and when to apply a shock to the victim as well. 

Start with CPR

If someone goes down at your workplace, and is not breathing and doesn't have a heartbeat, the first thing that you should do is start CPR. To perform CPR, you take the heal of your hand and put it on the center of the person's chest, compressing down a couple of inches at a time. The song Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees provides you with the perfect tempo for performing CPR. A more modern song you can hum to yourself to keep the right tempo is Sorry by Justin Bieber and Rumor Has it by Adele.

The most important part of CPR are the compressions if you are not comfortable giving rescue breathes. Performing CPR keeps blood circulation to the injured person's heart and their brain. It also increases the chance of defibrillation via the AED being successful.

If your office has an AED machine, you may want to hold a training session to ensure that everyone in your office is comfortable using the AED and associated equipment, like Zoll AED accessories, and knows that they should first start CPR, then send someone to go get the AED when someone stops breathing and you can't find a heartbeat.