February 11, 2025 — CHELMSFORD, MASS. — In advance of National Heart Health Month, and on the heels of the milestone passing of the HEARTS Act, ZOLL® Medical’s Anything Can Happen. Anyone Can Help.™ education campaign is releasing results from a national survey* of more than 2,000 American adults that reveals a concerning gap in awareness and understanding about the role AEDs play in a cardiac emergency. Insufficient awareness may leave bystanders hesitant to act in a crisis, and highlights the urgent need to educate the public on the ease and importance of using an AED.

Conducted by The Harris Poll and commissioned by ZOLL, the survey data reveal that while the vast majority of Americans (90%) want a bystander—likely someone who is not a medical professional, but an “everyday” stranger on the scene—to retrieve an AED and use it to help them in a cardiac event, many do not feel confident using an AED (54%) or feel that it is not their responsibility (53%). Likely contributing to this hesitancy is a lack of awareness, with 41% of Americans surprised to learn that they can help save a life simply by turning on an AED and following the visual and audio instructions designed to empower anyone to help save a life.

“The HEARTS Act is a monumental achievement following years of hard work by advocacy groups across the country,” said Elijah White, President of ZOLL's Acute Care Technology division. “AEDs can’t save lives without someone taking action, and ZOLL’s Anything Can Happen. Anyone Can Help.™ campaign is focused on delivering education to ensure everyone knows that AEDs are there to be used by anyone. Simply turn on a ZOLL AED and follow its real-time instructions and feedback to help save a life.”

Three AED Myths to Debunk Now to Empower More Bystanders to Act

Survey results reveal that Americans lack confidence in how to help with cardiac emergencies. Clearing up misconceptions can empower bystanders to become life-saving heroes.

• Can I Do More Than Call 911 in an Emergency? Absolutely. While 96% of Americans believe their responsibility in a cardiac emergency is to call 911, they may not realize that EMS response times average 7 to 14 minutes. Treatment in the first 3 minutes of SCA is critical for survival, when CPR and/or an AED shock can make the biggest difference. Yet, only 47% of Americans feel responsible for administering CPR or using an AED—revealing a need to encourage and empower bystanders to do more.
• The Game Changer? Knowing AEDs Offer Real Time Feedback. Although 83% of Americans believe using an AED after calling 911 is the best thing they can do if someone is in SCA, 32% would not be likely to use one if they witnessed someone in SCA, and 42% don’t feel confident doing so because they do not know how to use one.
  • Encouragingly, nearly half (45%) say they would feel more confident if the AED provided real-time coaching with visual and audio instructions.
  • Many (46%) are surprised to learn that AEDs don’t just deliver shocks—they guide users step-by-step through CPR and defibrillation, and ZOLL AEDs deliver real-time feedback to help ensure that CPR is high quality.
• Even if I Can Spot the Nearest AED, Isn’t it for Someone Else to Use? Think AgainLess than half (49%) of Americans feel confident they could locate an AED in a public space like their office, gym, or kid’s sports field. The good news? The HEARTS Act will help increase access to AEDs, and programs like AnyoneCanHelp.com will empower more bystanders to be active in saving lives. Today, 41% of Americans are surprised to learn that you can help save a life just by retrieving an AED, turning it on, and following the visual and audio instructions, also known as “real-time feedback.”

Spread the Knowledge: When the Unexpected Happens, Anyone Can Help.

As access to AEDs increases, it’s more important than ever that Americans feel empowered to help. ZOLL recently teamed up with professional football player, Damar Hamlin, to launch Anything Can Happen. Anyone Can Help.™ — a new public awareness initiative to communicate that AEDs are essential, life-saving tools whose visual and audio instruction empower anyone to help save a life in an emergency and should be readily accessible in every community. The campaign’s site, AnyoneCanHelp.com, includes information and an AED Community Activation Kit. Hamlin is also featured in PSA-style people on-the-street videos where he interacts with everyday people, revealing their perceptions about AEDs and SCA. The campaign also includes bystander success stories with survivors of SCA.

View the full Harris survey fact sheet here to see additional stats and figures. Data tabs are also available upon request.

*The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of ZOLL Medical Corporation from May 2-6, 2024, among 2,046 adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Marcia Gray ([email protected]).

About ZOLL Medical

ZOLL, an Asahi Kasei company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and cardiac monitoring, circulation enhancement and CPR feedback, supersaturated oxygen therapy, data management, ventilation, therapeutic temperature management, and sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, as well as lay rescuers, improve patient outcomes in critical cardiopulmonary conditions. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.

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