Research shows that areas of the United States where there are high numbers of unregistered automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, also have an increased failure rate of those AEDs.
Researchers at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky have found significant variability exists in how AEDs are registered and maintained causing concern about failure rates of the medical devices. Currently, there are no national standards for the maintenance and registration of AEDs.
Public access AEDs are now commonly found in schools, community centers, government buildings and workplaces as a way to give potentially life-saving treatment for cardiac arrest.
Study: Readiness of public access AEDs is surprisingly low
