February 12, 2025- 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.
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.