This post about the Philips Heartstart Home Defibrillator reminded me of something that came up in conversation the other day with some of the other members of our local CERT.  AED’s are starting to show up just about everywhere, and the price is just about to the point where some people can even afford to have one at home. 

As long as people understand what they can be used for, they’re great.  But I’m afraid that with a name like “Heartstart” some people might get the wrong idea.  An AED is completely automated and will only allow a shock if the person has a “shockable rhythm”.  This means that an AED will not shock someone whose heart has stopped completely (although most of them will advise you to perform CPR for a minute and then it will check for rhythm again).  I suspect it won’t be long before Philips gets sued by the survivors of someone who had no rhythm and died and for whom the AED could do nothing.

But perhaps I’m being overly cynical.  (Who?  Me?  Cynical?  Can’t be.  )