• An AED is a portable, computerized device that delivers a shock to restore a normal heartbeat. With minimal training, a volunteer responder can safely and effectively use the device in an emergency. Even very young children have been trained to use AEDs.

• Even without formal prior training, the proper use of an AED is spelled out in simple instructions on the device itself and can be understood quickly and performed properly.

• An AED will not permit the operator to send a shock if the heart doesn’t need it.

• Good Samaritan immunity laws limit legal risks for non-medical laypersons using an AED in good faith.

• Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a failure of the heart to pump blood due to an electrical disturbance in the heart. Victims of SCA collapse and lose consciousness. Unless a normal heart rhythm is restored, death follows within minutes.

• The only treatment for SCA is immediate CPR and defibrillation within three to five minutes of collapse.

• Victims range from young adults to middle-aged to the elderly. Children, teens and student athletes also are potential victims.

• Most people stricken with SCA have had no previous history of heart disease.

• Approximately 400 sudden cardiac arrests occur in Pittsburgh every year. Without immediate treatment, only 5 to 7 percent of these SCA victims survive.

• Only 44 percent of Pittsburghers know CPR. The national average is 57 percent.