{"id":1492,"date":"2026-02-16T14:03:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T19:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.blackbikemedia.com\/rfa771\/?p=1492"},"modified":"2026-02-16T16:56:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:56:00","slug":"the-big-mistake-aeds-are-easy-to-use-while-this-is-true-bystanders-are-still-afraid-to-get-involved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.blackbikemedia.com\/rfa771\/the-big-mistake-aeds-are-easy-to-use-while-this-is-true-bystanders-are-still-afraid-to-get-involved\/","title":{"rendered":"THE BIG MISTAKE \u2013 AED\u2019s are easy to use, while this is true, bystanders are still afraid to get involved."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Sudden Cardiac Arrest: Minutes Matter, Lives Depend on It<\/h2>

Every year 60,000 people suffer a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). A cardiac arrest simply means the heart has stopped beating and blood will not get circulated to the brain. The brain will start to die in 5 minutes without circulation and even with chest compressions chance of successfully re-starting a heart is lost by 7-10% with each passing minute.\u00a0 So, in 10-15 minutes the heart will not likely be restarted and the patient will die.\u00a0 While virtually, every paramedic unit and fire truck in Canada has a Manual Defibrillator or Automated External Defibrillator (AED). The problem still remains the 9-1-1 response times to the scene (address location) might average 10 minutes for the highest priority emergency response like a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), it will still take a few more minutes for the crew to get the stretcher and equipment out of the vehicle, and make their way into the building or site and get to the patient\u2019s location, access the patient and begin treatment. So unfortunately, 9-1-1 Emergency Services take too long to get to the patient and save their life.\u00a0<\/p>

The Chain of Survival Starts with You<\/h2>

The international Liaison Consortium on Resuscitation (ILCOR) consisting of official organizations like the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, American Heart Association, British Heart and so on said when AEDs were first developed in the late 1990s \u201cthey are so sophisticated and easy to use,\u00a0 that lay-rescuers with minimal training can use an AED. If AEDs were placed in community locations like sports complexes, community centres, and workplaces, then bystanders could use the AED long before the 911 responders arrived and\u00a0 thousands of lives could be saved.<\/p>

The Automated External Defibrillator will access the heart rhythm and determine if a shock is advised, then the AED will set the therapeutic energy (shock) level, and all the bystander\u00a0 has to do is get people away from the patient and say \u201cClear\u201d and \u201cPress the Flashing Shock Button\u201d.<\/p>

The\u00a0Chain of Survival<\/b>\u00a0was developed back in early 2000 by the American Heart Association to illustrate the 5 key steps in saving a life and the huge role that bystanders play in sudden cardiac arrest response. If any link breaks the patient will not likely survive. It showed the importance of having the public participate and start care before 911 crews arrived<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

You Can\u2019t Make It Worse\u2014You\u00a0Can<\/em>\u00a0Save a Life<\/h2>

To date, literally thousands of AED\u2019s have been purchased and placed across Canada in virtually every government building, school, post-secondary institutions, public buildings, community centres, sports complexes, commercial retail, commercial business and residential condominiums, businesses, airports, aircraft, sub-way and transit terminals almost everywhere.\u00a0 so anyone can use the AED,\u00a0BEFORE<\/b>\u00a09-1-1 Emergency Services arrive.<\/p>

The reality however, is,\u00a0 the public are not using AEDs, they are afraid of making a mistake or getting sued.\u00a0 On hospital and emergency TV shows cardiac arrests look very stressful and intimidating and the Medical Teams must take complete control of the situation and yell CLEAR!!! to everyone and then Shock the patient holding the Shock Paddles (Even though this old technology hasn\u2019t been used in years) \u2013 it is still more dramatic and exciting when the staff applies the electrode paddles to the patient\u2019s chest. So, most people think running a cardiac arrest is very technical, intense and requires a great deal of training and expertise.<\/p>

Cardiologist\u00a0Simon\u00a0Hansom,\u00a0director of Inherited Arrhythmia Clinic at the\u00a0University of Ottawa Heart Institute, says bystander CPR is “the number one thing you can do to save people.” “You do your best,” the doctor said.\u00a0“If someone’s had a cardiac arrest, you’re not going to make them any worse than they already are.” (Read Full article from CBC News<\/a>\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0Posted: Jun 27, 2025)<\/p>

The new Ontario AED Bill 141 just received it\u2019s third and final reading in the Ontario Legislature.<\/h2>

When bystanders do start CPR and use an AED the survival rate is over 30% – so any effort to get AED into the hands of the public is good. One of the components of the new Ontario AED Bill 141 law AED Registry so 9-1-1 Call Centres will know the location of the closest AED when a 9-1-1 call comes in.\u00a0 MPPs are saying this will make finding public defibrillators easier. The Defibrillator registry \u2018will help save lives across Ontario.\u00a0 While it might help a little, the real problem still remains, and that is that bystanders are afraid or unwilling to use them even if they know where they are located.\u00a0Learn more about 141 on the Heart & Stroke website<\/a><\/p>

There are six key components to the new AED 141<\/h3>