What is a Defibrillator?

Public access defibrillation (PAD) can bring the lifesaving shock of a defibrillator to a victim of cardiac arrest within minutes - even before emergency services personnel can arrive. Time is of the essence for those who suffer a cardiac arrest.

Approximately 380 people suffer from cardiac arrest each year in the city of Calgary. About 17 to 20 percent of these cardiac arrests occur out of the home.

More than 90 percent of people in cardiac arrest require an electrical shock from a defibrillator to convert their heart rhythm to a normal rhythm.

PAD gives victims a fighting chance. A trained "Target Responder" using a defibrillator can increase a victim's chance of survival by up to 50 percent.

The act of defibrillation, or shocking, is more successful when it is delivered to the victim of cardiac arrest quickly - within two to six minutes.

Unfortunately, by the time a paramedic crew arrives with the defibrillator, a cardiac arrest victim has less than a five percent chance of survival. On average, it takes emergency service personal responding to the scene (EMS and Fire Department) more than eight minutes.

Hundreds of lives are saved each year through public access defibrillation. The numbers can be higher.