A cardiac arrest in Italy (the arresto cardiaco, the specific medical emergency (the sudden cessation of effective cardiac mechanical activity, causing the immediate loss of consciousness and the cessation of breathing) that kills approximately 60,000 Italians per year (the specific Italian cardiac arrest statistics: 60,000 annual out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (the OHCA. Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest), of which approximately 7,000-9,000 survive to hospital discharge (the specific Italian OHCA survival rate of 12-15%, comparable to the European average but significantly below the Norwegian (30%) and Dutch (22%) rates that reflect the higher single-rescuer CPR training coverage in those countries))) is the most time-critical single medical emergency in Italy and the one where the specific bystander action (the CPR + the AED (the Automated External Defibrillator, the defibrillatore automatico esterno or DAE in Italian) use within the first 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest) has the most dramatic single impact on survival outcomes (the specific research finding: each minute of delay between cardiac arrest and defibrillation reduces the survival probability by approximately 10%. AED use within 3 minutes of OHCA doubles the survival rate compared to CPR alone).
How do you want to see it?
ItalyCompare the same experience on GetYourGuide and Viator, save what you like to My Trip, share it, and book when you’re sure. Italy’s most booked first.
Italy AED: Finding the Defibrillator and What to Do
The DAE Italia App. The Most Reliable AED Finder
The DAE Italia app (the specific Italian AED location application, available for iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play), developed by the IRC (Italian Resuscitation Council) in partnership with the Italian Ministry of Health): the most comprehensive single Italian AED location database (the DAE Italia registers approximately 120,000 AED devices across Italy, the highest single Italian registration density, covering approximately 35% of all installed Italian AEDs (the actual total Italian AED installation is estimated at 350,000+ devices by the Italian Ministry of Health 2024 data)): the DAE Italia app shows the nearest AED location, the specific opening hours (many AEDs are in buildings with restricted access), and the specific AED availability status (the real-time availability indicator that distinguishes the always-accessible outdoor AED (the specific outdoor AED cabinet, the weatherproof yellow-green cabinet mounted on the external wall of the building) from the business-hours-only indoor AED (the hospital, the pharmacy, the office building AED available only during opening hours)). The specific DAE Italia search: open the app → enable location → the nearest AED appears on the map with the specific walking distance and the specific building name. Alternative online: the interoperability portal defibril.it provides the web-based equivalent map.
Standard Italian AED Locations
The specific Italian infrastructure where AEDs are mandatorily or commonly installed: Italian airports (the mandatory AED installation in all Italian airports with the specific 3-minute walking distance requirement from any gate or passenger area, all major Italian airports (Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Venice Marco Polo, Naples Capodichino) have the specific AED coverage that meets the ENAC (Italian Civil Aviation Authority) mandatory standard). Italian railway stations (the Trenitalia and RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana) AED program, mandatory installation in all Italian railway stations with the specific green-cross signage identifying the AED cabinet location (the standard Italian AED cabinet signage: the green heart with the lightning bolt (the specific internationally standardized AED symbol) on the specific yellow-green cabinet))). Italian sports facilities (the mandatory AED installation in all Italian sports facilities with the specific FIGC (Italian Football Federation) requirement for all Italian Serie A, B, and C stadiums and the specific FCI (Italian Cycling Federation) requirement for all official Italian cycling event venues)). And Italian beaches (the specific Italian "spiagge cardioprotette" (the cardiac-protected beaches) program, the Italian Ministry of Health program that certifies Italian managed beaches (the stabilimenti balneari) with the AED, the CPR-trained bagnino (lifeguard), and the specific 3-minute cardiac response protocol): verify the specific "spiaggia cardioprotetta" certification at the beach entrance before water entry, the certified beach is the most specifically cardiac-safe single Italian outdoor recreation environment).
The Italian AED Legal Framework
The specific Italian AED legal framework for non-medical bystander use: the Italian Legge 116/2021 (the specific Italian AED access law that established the nationwide AED access network and, most importantly for the bystander, the specific legal protection for the non-medical AED user (the "buon samaritano" provision that protects the non-medical bystander who uses the AED in good faith from any civil or criminal liability for the cardiac arrest outcome even if the outcome is fatal)): in Italy, since the Law 116/2021, any person, regardless of medical training, can legally use any AED on any cardiac arrest victim without requiring prior certification or training. The specific Italian CPR + AED protocol for the bystander: 1. Call 118 immediately; 2. Begin CPR (the 30 chest compressions + 2 rescue breaths cycle, the 118 dispatcher provides real-time CPR guidance by telephone for the untrained bystander); 3. Send someone to retrieve the nearest AED (the DAE Italia app identifies the location); 4. Power on the AED and follow the specific voice instructions (the Italian AED voice instructions are in Italian and English for the most common Italian AED models (the Philips HeartStart, the Zoll AED Plus, and the Defibtech Lifeline), the visual and voice instructions guide the non-trained user through the specific electrode placement and the shock delivery without requiring any prior medical knowledge).
Q&A: Italy Defibrillator
What should I do first in a cardiac arrest in Italy, call 118 or start CPR?
Both simultaneously, the specific Italian 118 dispatch protocol (the dispatch-helped CPR protocol adopted by all Italian regional 118 dispatch centers since 2015) allows the 118 dispatcher to coach the caller through the CPR while simultaneously dispatching the ambulance. The specific protocol: call 118 (or 112), put the call on speakerphone, confirm the address and the situation ("arresto cardiaco" or "il paziente non respira, non risponde" (the patient isn't breathing, not responding)), and begin CPR immediately with the 118 dispatcher's telephone guidance. The specific 118 dispatcher coaching: all Italian 118 dispatch centers use the specific MPDS (Medical Priority Dispatch System) protocol that provides the dispatcher with the specific script for real-time CPR coaching, the dispatcher tells the bystander exactly where to place the hands, how hard to push (the "5-6 centimetri di profondita". 5-6cm depth), and at what rate (the "100-120 compressioni al minuto". 100-120 compressions per minute, approximately the tempo of the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive" (the specific mnemonic that the Italian IRC uses in CPR training courses because the song's specific 104 BPM tempo matches the optimal chest compression rate with the specific additional mnemonic value of the title)).
