There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 17:20:32 GMT

koefoed@helvede.net — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 17:20:32 GMT

@CiaraNi @afewbugs hjerteløber is a fantastic program!
Explanation: It’s an app, people sign up by downloading it, emergency services can activate it, and to those 20 who are alerted, it shows their nearest defibrillator including instructions on how to run there. I’ve analysed the app with my UX students several times (to sneakily get them to sign up…). It’s such an amazing thing.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 17:10:48 GMT

5teverin0@mstdn.party — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 17:10:48 GMT

@afewbugs In my experience, they are not common in public spaces in the US, probably because (sadly) they would be vandalized or stolen. My workace, however, has several throughout the building.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:52:49 GMT

ciarani@mastodon.green — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:52:49 GMT

@afewbugs

Great reminder. The defibrillators are publicly widespread here (Denmark) too. Coincidentally, I saw this just after reading that Hjerteløber (‘Heart Runner’) volunteers here are faster than ever to save lives. 20 volunteers in the immediate area get alerted to a heart attack. At least 10 of them now reach the person within 3 minutes, 24 seconds. Grabbing AEDs on the way. 61,000 volunteers drive, run or cycle to help. Fair play to them!

https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/hjerteloebere-er-hurtigere-end-nogensinde-foer

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 15:06:21 GMT

mekki@mas.to — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 15:06:21 GMT

@axx Worth adding for folks that worry: AEDs are specifically designed to analyze incoming cardiac signals before enabling the ability to deliver a shock, and they will only activate the shock function if fibrillation is detected. In other words, it cannot be used to incorrectly/unnecessarily shock a person and harm them. It is not at all like TV dramas!

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 14:27:07 GMT

rhempel@cosocial.ca — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 14:27:07 GMT

@axx When we lived in Denmark there was a HeartStarter program - when someone has a heart attack, members of the public that have taken defibrillator training are alerted on their phones and can rush to the scene.

They are given a few nearby defibrillator locations so they can pick it up on the way.

I witnessed this in action one day on the shopping street in Vejle - it was fucking amazing!

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:42:01 GMT

alexpalacefan@mastodonapp.uk — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:42:01 GMT

@axx and while we're on the subject you should remove the bra if it's underwired. There should be scissors in with the de-fib.
A

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:32:08 GMT

feral_3d@mastodon.social — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:32:08 GMT

@axx anyone who has worked for a restaurant for more than ten years will know...

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:12:11 GMT

sewblue@sfba.social — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:12:11 GMT

@afewbugs I've been trained through work.

The dirty secret is that CPR doesn't work like it does in movies. It may help a drowning victim regain consciousness but only a shock will restart the heart for heart attacks.

CPR helps prevent brain damage until the heart can be restarted.

And you will have to cut a woman's bra off. It will interfere with the shock.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:34:52 GMT

axx@mstdn.fr — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:34:52 GMT

RE: https://social.coop/@afewbugs/117450026165565972

Anyone can and should use an Automated external defibrillator (AED)!

Anyone can use it, they are designed for untrained people to use them.

Also, if you can, help keep #OpenStreetMap up to date when it comes to AED locations: if the map says one is there, please check it really is, now, when there is no emergency and you've got a couple minutes to spare. It could make all the difference to someone down the line.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:31:01 GMT

axx@mstdn.fr — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:31:01 GMT

@robinthewitch @afewbugs I expect they even have an automated recorded voice to guide you through applying it.
edit: Rachel confirms it here https://norfolk.social/@rachel/117450055785834127 in a different thread of answers!

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:14:29 GMT

naturemc@mastodon.online — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:14:29 GMT

@IcooIey a lot to get rid of fear. You can even find infos in internet how it looks and works like.

@quixoticgeek @afewbugs

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:13:36 GMT

naturemc@mastodon.online — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:13:36 GMT

@IcooIey I see it like you. Working in a French museum, I once looked at ours because my medicine French is not the best. But that machine comes also with simple international icons you can understand without language knowledge.
And like you say: the worst that could happen is that it doesn't work if you use it wrong.
Mostly you have other people around you. Shout how they could help you. That someone phones the urgency number etc.
Looking at a machine before, helps

@quixoticgeek @afewbugs

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:46:43 GMT

bashstkid@mastodon.online — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:46:43 GMT

@afewbugs I may be showing my age, then, as I did learn first aid in school, in Scouts, and at work.
The most important lesson being don’t be scared, take care, but try to help.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:33:52 GMT

crucialbreeze@mastodon.social — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:33:52 GMT

@IcooIey @afewbugs @BashStKid yes , I’ve seen something similar before and it suggest men were or would be hesitant.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:27:50 GMT

quixoticgeek@social.v.st — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:27:50 GMT

@IcooIey @NatureMC @afewbugs agreed.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:19:52 GMT

icooiey@mastodon.green — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:19:52 GMT

@quixoticgeek @NatureMC @afewbugs Sure. But every AED I’ve seen (have trained with them for decades) has easy to understand numbered pictures and if it’s set up incorrectly, it won’t function. The biggest delay is usually a group of people standing around waiting for someone else to act. If you start acting, even with a language barrier, that will break that and if another person is there and understands the language, they would then step in to help.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:14:54 GMT

icooiey@mastodon.green — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:14:54 GMT

AED’s are pretty simple to use. I agree that providing training to more people is the best way to get over the hesitation of using one. It’s really amazing how the bigger the group, the less likely people are to act in an emergency. Everyone assumes someone else will, meanwhile a persons life is at stake every second of delay.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:14:53 GMT

icooiey@mastodon.green — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:14:53 GMT

@afewbugs @BashStKid I think some of the reluctance to acting is fear of liability (either for inappropriate touching, or injuring someone through misuse). In the US, at least, while laws differ between states, Good Samaritan laws protect people who take good faith action to help. Though, on the flip side, people are also legally protected when they DON’T act to help. There is no legal duty to help save a life (though there may be a moral one.)

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:01:37 GMT

catdragon@mastodon.world — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:01:37 GMT

@afewbugs by coincidence my husband and I have been discussing purchasing one. While healthy we are moving from old to elderly and the emergency response time where we are is a minimum of 20 minutes. We have been trying to decide whether it’s crazy to get one or not.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:59:30 GMT

afewbugs@social.coop — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:59:30 GMT

@BashStKid I really think it should be taught in schools and workplaces rather than something most people have to pay privately to get

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:58:02 GMT

quixoticgeek@social.v.st — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:58:02 GMT

@NatureMC @afewbugs the only problem there is the machines are monolingual. If I'm travelling and someone collapses and I need to use a aed, I'm not sure I'd understand the German or french or Spanish instructions.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:57:47 GMT

bashstkid@mastodon.online — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:57:47 GMT

@afewbugs Boosting for maximum visibility!

Absolutely, never ‘wait for a trained professional’, get in there with the helpful defibrillator.

I suspect this indicates that first aid training in schools and the workplace is a lot poorer than it should be.

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:42:55 GMT

keefeglise@mastodonapp.uk — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:42:55 GMT

@afewbugs That's a rather sobering toot. If you wait for a trained person to bring a defibrillator it'll be too late. And you don't need any training to use one at all. Anyone can use it. The defibrillator talks you through all the steps including compressions and rescue breaths. The pads have diagrams...

Reply to There's a poll going round the Fedi at the moment about whether you would be able to use an AED/defibrillator on a woman having a heart attack and a lot of people are commenting they'd let the trained person who brought it use it. on Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:41:04 GMT

naturemc@mastodon.online — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:41:04 GMT

@afewbugs That poll is quite separated between the US and Europe. In France, these defibrillators are also placed everywhere. And every building with public is obliged to have a security plan in the entry and on each level that shows all important things.
*Everybody* can use a defibrillator, the machine tells you (yes, it talks) what to do. Every second counts for life saving.
But a training in first aid can help you against panic.