Public-Access Defibrillation in Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Abstract

Sudden cardiac arrest caused by cardiac and extracardiac pathology is one of the leading causes of death in developed countries. Public-access defibrillation is one of the key techniques for improvement of the pre-hospital and in-hospital resuscitation success and survival rates of resuscitated patients in the case of a sudden cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. This book chapter will discuss the relation between the type of a sudden cardiac arrest and the survival rate and the “chain of survival” concept and the role of early public-access defibrillation, as well as the function of public-access defibrillation programs and the contribution of automated external defibrillators in pre-hospital and in-hospital resuscitation.