Don't be afraid of the automated external defibrillator: turn it on and do what it says; understand when breaths are needed and how to work as a pair.
The device talks — you act
The defibrillator, breaths, and your partner
An automated external defibrillator — an AED — hangs in malls, train stations, offices, and gyms. Anyone can use one: no training is needed.
Open the AED as soon as it arrives (some turn on when opened): every minute's delay makes a failed shock about 6% more likely. It then talks you through everything. Pads go on bare skin, as shown on the device. It analyzes the rhythm itself and won't shock if it isn't needed, and says so. Nobody touches the person during analysis. After a shock or “No shock advised,” go straight back to compressions. With two of you, keep compressing while the other puts on the pads.
Breaths. If you're trained in them, do 30 compressions and 2 breaths, over and over; each breath just enough for the chest to begin to rise, with no sharp, forceful blowing. If you're untrained, can't, or don't want to, do compressions only, continuously. That's an equally valid option: it's what the dispatcher recommends by default.
On swapping: if there are two of you, switch during the pause the AED announces — about every two minutes. This is practical advice from experience, not part of the 2025 guidelines. A tired rescuer pushes less effectively, and the quality of compressions matters more than who does them.
Lesson notes
The defibrillator, breaths, and your partner
An automated external defibrillator — an AED — hangs in malls, train stations, offices, and gyms. Anyone can use one: no training is needed.
Open the AED as soon as it arrives (some turn on when opened): every minute's delay makes a failed shock about 6% more likely. It then talks you through everything. Pads go on bare skin, as shown on the device. It analyzes the rhythm itself and won't shock if it isn't needed, and says so. Nobody touches the person during analysis. After a shock or “No shock advised,” go straight back to compressions. With two of you, keep compressing while the other puts on the pads.
Breaths. If you're trained in them, do 30 compressions and 2 breaths, over and over; each breath just enough for the chest to begin to rise, with no sharp, forceful blowing. If you're untrained, can't, or don't want to, do compressions only, continuously. That's an equally valid option: it's what the dispatcher recommends by default.
On swapping: if there are two of you, switch during the pause the AED announces — about every two minutes. This is practical advice from experience, not part of the 2025 guidelines. A tired rescuer pushes less effectively, and the quality of compressions matters more than who does them.