American Heart Association Automated External Defibrillator Symposium: Summary and Recommendations.

José G Cabañas, Comilla Sasson, Benjamin S Abella, Tom P Aufderheide, Lance B Becker, Katie N Dainty, Carolina Malta-Hansen, Rudolph W Koster, Michael C Kurz, Keith A Marill and 8 more

Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025-03-19 · Guideline / consensus

Read at publisher · PubMed

Abstract

The American Heart Association (AHA) introduced public access defibrillation more than 30 years ago. Since then, we have seen the growth of public access defibrillation programs across many settings within communities. However, despite high expectations that the availability of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and more integrated public access defibrillation programs would dramatically increase cardiac arrest survival, AEDs are used in the United States in only 4% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and survival rates have remained disappointingly low. In follow-up to a recent International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation report, an AED Symposium was organized by members of the AHA Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee to establish a strategic roadmap for AED technology, education and training, and real-world use of these devices, including integration with public access defibrillation programs to meet the AHA's goal of doubling out-of-hospital cardiac arrests survival by 2030. The meeting brought together a diverse group of subject matter experts including representatives from the US Food and Drug Administration, the defibrillator industry, clinicians, and scientists. This paper summarizes the proceedings of the AED symposium and suggests a set of strategic recommendations to ultimately improve survival from cardiac arrest.

Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal

Tags

Automated external defibrillator · Bystanders · Mortality & survival

Related articles

• The American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care 2030 Impact Goals and Call to Action to Improve Cardiac Arrest Outcomes: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. (Circulation, 2024)
• Lay rescuer use of automated external defibrillators in infants, children and adolescents: A systematic review. (Resusc Plus, 2022)
• The Effects of Public Access Defibrillation on Survival After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies. (Circulation, 2017)
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation alone vs. cardiopulmonary resuscitation plus automated external defibrillator use by non-healthcare professionals: a meta-analysis on 1583 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. (Resuscitation, 2008)
• Lay rescuer automated external defibrillator ("public access defibrillation") programs: lessons learned from an international multicenter trial: advisory statement from the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Committee; the Council on Cardiopulmonary, Perioperative, and Critical Care; and the Council on Clinical Cardiology. (Circulation, 2005)
• Automated External Defibrillator Pad Application Before EMS Arrival in Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest. (JAMA Netw Open, 2026)