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Cardiac arrest

Pad application is the AED time bottleneck

Identifying the Operational Bottleneck to Shock Delivery After Automated External Defibrillator Activation
Resuscitation · 2026-10 · Added 22 October 2026

Timestamps from 8,115 remotely monitored Japanese AEDs showed pad application consumed a median 81% of the power-on-to-first-analysis interval, with completion inside about 50 seconds marking shocks delivered within 60 seconds of power-on.

Study type

Cohort

Design

Retrospective analysis of remotely monitored AED timestamps

Participants

8,115 AED activation events (900 initially shock-advised with recorded shock)

Main finding

Median power-on-to-pad-application was 42 seconds, accounting for 81% of the power-on-to-first-analysis interval; a threshold of ≥51 seconds identified shock delivery beyond 60 seconds

Caveat

Device log data only, with no linkage to patient outcomes or rescuer type

Bottom line

Hypothesis-generating

Learning goal

Strengthen my ability to minimise delays between AED power-on and pad application during cardiac arrest resuscitation.

More

• Topic: Cardiac arrest
• Daily scan: 22 October 2026

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