Trained in CPR? Download the PulsePoint Respond App to receive alerts and help people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.
Download the PulsePoint Respond App
About 35,000 Canadians experience an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest every year, and only 8.4% survive to leave the hospital. Bystander CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) can
double a person's chance of survival. However, these lifesaving actions do not happen often enough.
BC Emergency Health Services and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada want to improve survival rates by increasing the number of people in BC who can provide hands-only CPR and use an AED.
The
PulsePoint Respond App alerts you when someone may be experiencing an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest within 400 metres of your location anywhere in BC. If there is a public-access AED nearby, the app shows you where to find it.
When you receive an alert and locate the patient, you can provide hands-only CPR and use an AED, if available, until professional responders arrive.
Download the PulsePoint Respond app from the
Apple App Store or
Google Play Store. The app lets you choose the emergency medical service you want to follow. In BC, select BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS).
You can follow more than one service or area. For example, if you live in BC and travel frequently to the United States, you can also follow emergency medical services in those communities if they use PulsePoint.
9-1-1 call-takers send alerts when someone is believed to be experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, choking, having a serizure, or not breathing. Professional first responders are already on their way when you receive an alert, but they may still be several minutes away.
Anyone in BC who can provide CPR to a person experiencing sudden cardiac arrest can download and use the PulsePoint app.
To participate:
- You should be trained in hands-only CPR
- The app will show the location of the nearest AED
- If you have AED training, you can ask someone nearby to retrieve it while you provide CPR
- If you are unsure how to use an AED, BCEHS call-takers can guide you through the process
- PulsePoint covers all of BC and sends alerts when a person in need is within 400 metres of your location
If you receive an alert:
- Look for the patient
- Start hands-only CPR
- Use an AED if available
- Continue until professional first responders arrive
Please respond only when you feel safe and comfortable doing so. Never leave a child or vulnerable adult alone to respond to an alert.
We understand that you are not available at all times. Respond whenever you can.
PulsePoint sends alerts only for incidents in public places. For example, you may receive an alert for a sudden cardiac arrest that occurs on a street, but not for one that occurs inside an office building.
Public areas may include:
- Streets
- Transit hubs
- Recreation facilities and grounds
- Stores and shopping malls
- Places of worship.
AED locations listed in the app may not always be public, but all devices are registered for public access.
Responding to an alert will not delay the dispatch of professional first responders.
If you cannot respond you do not need to notify us.
PulsePoint also displays motor vehicle incidents. You will not receive alerts for these events, and no response is expected. They are included to help confirm that the app is working properly.
PulsePoint also offers the PulsePoint AED Registry.
This easy-to-use tool helps build a public registry of AEDs in your community. We encourage organizations and public venues to register their AEDs.
