AED’s are extremely effective and have been proven to save lives. Depending on which statistics you read and whether the person receiving treatment is in a hospital or not, CPR is only 2%-18% effective. AEDs, by contrast, increase survival rates for victims of sudden cardiac arrest by more than 80% if the person receives treatment within the first three minutes.

Perhaps this is because ventricular fibrillation, a particularly deadly form of heart arrhythmia, is at the root of almost 90% of instances of cardiac arrests in adults. The only way to halt ventricular fibrillation is by using a defibrillator.