Tracking Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs): A regional AED registry and owner survey
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) causes 45,000 deaths in Canada per year. The survival rate of SCA patients is only 10% but can be as high as 20-25% if the SCA occurs in a public location. If an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) is used, survival can increase dramatically to 40-50%.
In Toronto, it takes Emergency Medical Services (EMS), on average, 8.5 minutes to arrive on scene for patients with an SCA. So it’s really important for bystanders who witness someone having an SCA to perform CPR and use an AED. The problem is that most people don’t know what an AED is or where to find one. Our research study aims to survey all the people in the GTA who own an AED to find out how many there are available and to make a list of these AEDs available for anyone to find and use.
For more information or to get involved, please email: Dr. Paul Dorian at paul.dorian@unityhealth.to
