A Shocking Truth

Mark Harris discusses how the automated external defibrillators (AED) in airports, malls, and offices that can save people's lives have failed at the crucial moment. When a policeman, shopkeeper, or passerby uses an AED promptly and correctly, it can help keep the suffering person alive until professionals can provide treatment, increasing survival chances up to tenfold. From that moment on, time is of the essence. For every minute that passes without a heartbeat, the patient's chance of survival drops by up to 10 percent. Even if a properly trained bystander immediately starts cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), rapidly compressing the patient's chest to force blood around the body, survival rates will still decline 5 percent per minute. The FDA discovered that manufacturers had evaluated barely a third of the malfunctions and had identified the problem in only a third of those cases.