According to the CDC, 70% to 90% of people who have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) die before reaching the hospital. In 2015, about 357,000 people in the U.S. had OHCA. Before emergency response personnel arrive, the best chance for survival is when another person uses an automatic external defibrillator (AED) to help the victim’s heart return to a normal rhythm. Even untrained bystanders can use AEDs to save lives if they know where to find working devices.
In 2015 we wrote about AEDMAP’s Connect, a Staying Alive Foundation application that monitored more than 700,000 remote defibrillators worldwide. The need for fast and easy means to locate publicly available automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) continues to grow.
Dublin-based Citizens Save Lives has also developed an AED locator system. The CiSali app has three functions to help in the case of an OHCA: find the closest AED, call emergency services, and locate the closest trained first responder who has registered with the system.
CiSali users can also use the application to register AEDs that are not yet in the program’s database. First responders who register with the application can indicate their availability to help untrained bystanders before emergency service assistance arrives. Travelers can use the app to choose hotels and fitness centers that are heart-secure and have AEDs on site.
AEDMAP Connect and CiSali have different features and it is likely many AED locations will be in both registers. Our viewpoint is the more apps the better if the programs can help save the lives of people who experience OHCA.
