Sep 27, 2019

Philips ships two-millionth AED, helping to save lives across the globe

Announcement of shipment of 2 millionth AED by Philips

New Delhi, India– Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, has announced the shipment of its two-millionth AED (Automated External Defibrillator). This achievement marks a major milestone in Philips’ continued efforts to combat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), reaffirming the company’s commitment to providing empowered heart care across the health continuum. Cardiac arrests can happen anywhere, at any time, and bystander intervention and treatment with an AED has been shown to increase the survival rate by three times.

“We are proud to reach the incredible milestone of the shipment of Philips two-millionth AED. The event is a testimony of Philips’ more than 20-year legacy of cardiac resuscitation innovations to combat the potentially fatal effects of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). As the leader in AEDs, Philips is committed to doing everything we can to help survive a sudden cardiac arrest, which is why we design our AEDs to be rugged, lightweight and durable, featuring clear audio instructions for both guided use and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) guidance.

Rohit Sathe

President – Philips Healthcare, Indian Subcontinent

Despite the widespread availability of AEDs today, people are not quite aware of AEDs, don’t know how easy they are to use and may still hesitate to intervene when someone is experiencing an SCA. Immediate defibrillation is the one and only way to save a person’s life in such cases. Philips aims to raise awareness around cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cardiac events while showcasing the user-friendliness and importance of AEDs besides encouraging people to take personal responsibility for leading heart-healthy lives. According to a recent study of Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) conducted in 21 countries across five continents, CVD continues to be one of the leading causes of death across the world. In India, however CVD is still the top killer, with death three times more frequent than that due to cancer.¹As a leader in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, Philips offers a comprehensive range of cardiology technology, workflow solutions and services that enable connected care across the health continuum. The company’s unique and strong portfolio of systems, smart devices, software and services in image-guided therapy, combine to offer healthcare providers with sophisticated, procedure-oriented solutions in cardiology.

Earlier this year, Philips and the American Heart Association announced a collaboration on Connected Pulse Program to increase sudden cardiac arrest survival rates in densely populated cities. The Connected Pulse program leverages a unique end-to-end solution combining education programs to increase awareness of CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation), the use of publicly available AEDs, and new technologies to strengthen the ‘chain of survival’ from the moment an incident occurs to the patient reaching the hospital. Philips is committed to utilize learnings from this programme to drive awareness around CVD in India.

A pioneer in AED innovation and reliability

Philips’ HeartStart OnSite & Heartstart FRx made the implementation of early AED programs in communities, schools and businesses much easier. The Philips HeartStart AEDs provides real-time guidance through simple, step-by-step voice commands, an audible metronome and CPR coaching to help guide the treatment of a suspected sudden cardiac arrest. With easy set-up, clear voice prompts, and rugged design, these AEDs are designed to be used with minimal or no prior training.

Philips was also the first to introduce an AED for pediatric use and was a pioneer in providing AEDs for use in airplanes. Today, Philips AEDs are available across the globe, on board major airlines, airports, in major hotels, in Fortune 100 companies, and in the locker rooms of professional sports teams worldwide.

More information on Philips’ portfolio of AEDs and the two-millionth AED milestone is available here

https://www.philips.co.in/healthcare/resources/landing/two-million-aeds

¹ Tending to the heart: On cardiac care

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2018 sales of EUR 18.1 billion and employs approximately 78,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

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