Defibrillators and Cardiac Arrest

The heart is controlled by an electrical impulse that makes it beat in a regular rhythm, keeping you alive.

When a person has a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), the normal rhythm becomes disrupted and disorganised, which means their heart can’t beat properly and they won’t be able to breathe normally.

For every minute that someone’s in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and having a defibrillator used on them, their chance of survival decreases by 10%. That’s why it’s so important to act immediately.

A defibrillator gives a jolt of energy to the heart, which can help restore the heart’s rhythm, and get it beating normally again. It’s easy to use and you don’t need training, but it could make the difference between life and death.

Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCA)

  • Up to 70% of people having a cardiac arrest could survive if a defibrillator is used
  • There are an estimated 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK
  • Around 270 children die from a sudden cardiac arrest every year in the UK
  • Only one in 10 people survive a cardiac arrest
  • Up to 70% could survive if a defibrillator is used
  • Half of all OHCA are witnessed by a bystander
  • Bystander CPR is attempted in 7 out of 10 arrests
  • Without intervention, the chances of survival fall by 10% every minute