by KYW's medical editor Dr. Brian McDonough

AED’s are more commonplace than ever. And now,  a  new report which tested people untrained in the use of an automated external defibrillator  has found  that it is crucial that you don’t waste time agonizing over whether your attempts to use an AED will cause more harm than good. Just use the device.

AED’s are far more commonplace at schools, public places like shopping malls and the workplace.  When you use an AED you increase someone’s chance of survival from about 6% to over 30%, and the devices are designed to be used by just about anyone. 

Most people are concerned that defibrillation is very difficult to do, and the study showed that there were bystanders that really weren’t trained in defibrillation and did quite well.  The important message is the directions are so incredibly easy that a sixth grader could understand them.