Mise au point sur les défibrillateurs automatisés externes : automatiques ou semi-automatiques ?

Cardiac arrest or sudden death in adults represents nearly 60,000 deaths each year in France. Its management is actually a health care issue. Ventricular fibrillation is the cardiac arrhythmia most frequently documented after sudden death. Patient's outcome is directly correlated to the delay of administration of an external electric shock. Early defibrillation by the first responders of the “survival chain” and an adapted equipment are necessary to improve the victims' survival. Due to the evolution of the French law, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) that were used only by physicians, and then by health care professionals, have recently been made available for public use. By extending the use of AEDs to public access, one can estimate that 3000 to 4000 lives could be saved every year in France. However, in order to achieve this objective, it is necessary to inform and organize a training program for the population.