CONCORD, New Hampshire – The New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Emergency Services and Communications (DESC) proudly announces a new initiative that will make registering new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) easier than ever before for New Hampshire businesses, thanks to collaborative efforts between the PulsePoint Foundation and Google.

On Monday, April 3, 2023, Google will send an email to all businesses in the State of New Hampshire that have created a business profile on their platform, encouraging them to register new AEDs that are not yet in the statewide database. The email will include a link to the PulsePoint AED registration website, where Google will pre-populate the business’ location information, making it easy for business owners to complete the registration process.

There is no action required from businesses who have existing AEDs that have been previously registered with the State of New Hampshire.

“While registering AEDs is required by law in New Hampshire, this partnership between PulsePoint and Google helps tap into businesses and regions of the State that may be otherwise hard to reach,” said Mark Doyle, Director of the Division of Emergency Services and Communications. “Registering an AED today could help save a life tomorrow.”

As an established partner of New Hampshire 911 since May 2022, PulsePoint AED allows users to register publicly available automated external defibrillators (AEDs), which can be located on a map in the app for quick access during a cardiac emergency. Early application of bystander CPR and rapid defibrillation from an AED have proven to be crucial in improving a person’s chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest.

Anyone deploying an AED in New Hampshire is required by law to register it with the Division of Emergency Services and Communications. AEDs can be registered through PulsePoint at http://aed.new, or by downloading the PulsePoint AED app. After an individual or business registers an AED, the Division of Emergency Communications team verifies the registration before updating maps and data that 911 call takers use.

A study, published in the American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation, found that 66 percent of cardiac arrest victims who received a shock from an AED performed a bystander before emergency help arrived survived to hospital discharge. Conversely, without bystander use of a publicly available AED – waiting instead for emergency responders to arrive – 70 percent of cardiac arrest patients died or survived with impaired brain function.

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About the Division of Emergency Services and Communications

The mission of the Division of Emergency Services and Communications is “To locate, communicate and connect people in an emergency with the help they need.” The Division operates New Hampshire's 911 Emergency Number System, along with affiliated mapping, database operations, technical, and administrative roles, and the Bureaus of Radio Communications Maintenance and Interoperability. The Division provides instant access to police, fire and emergency medical assistance from any wired, cellular or VoIP telephone in the State. The New Hampshire 911 System provides a nationally-accredited, state-of-the-art emergency service response to residents and visitors all over the State of New Hampshire.

About the PulsePoint Foundation

PulsePoint is a public 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation that builds applications for use by public safety agencies to increase community awareness during critical events. The PulsePoint Respond mobile app notifies trained individuals of the nearby need for CPR and the PulsePoint AED registry identifies AED (automated external defibrillator) locations for use by the public and 9-1-1 telecommunicators during emergency call taking. PulsePoint also provides specialized mobile apps for professional responders. Learn more at pulsepoint.org.

About Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Although a heart attack can lead to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), the two are not the same. SCA is when the heart malfunctions and suddenly stops beating unexpectedly, whereas a heart attack is when blood flow to the heart is blocked, but the heart continues to beat. Each year, more than 326,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur, making it the leading cause of death in the United States. Survival rates nationally for SCA are less than eight percent, but delivery of CPR can sustain life until paramedics arrive by maintaining vital blood flow to the heart and brain. However, only about a third of SCA victims receive bystander CPR. Without CPR, brain damage or death can occur in minutes. The average EMS response time is nine minutes, even in urban settings; after 10 minutes there is little chance of successful resuscitation. The American Heart Association estimates that effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after SCA, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival.