Nearly half (48%) of UK adults mistakenly believe special training or experience is needed to help save a life with a defibrillator, according to new research.
As defib access expands across the UK, public awareness and confidence need to keep pace with knowledge of who can use AEDs and how the devices function.
Anything Can Happen. Anyone Can Help. campaign aims to close that gap by showing that defibrillators are designed to guide anyone through a cardiac emergency.

ZOLL^® Medical, an Asahi Kasei company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, including automated external defibrillators (AEDs), today announced the UK launch of its Anything Can Happen. Anyone Can Help.™ public awareness campaign.

The campaign aims to help reduce bystander hesitation by increasing awareness that defibrillators do more than deliver a shock; they empower bystanders with step-by-step instructions in a cardiac emergency. As a leader in the defibrillator market, ZOLL distinguishes its devices with Real CPR Help® technology with easy-to-follow audio and visual prompts and real-time corrective feedback to guide high-quality CPR.

Despite Expanded Access to Defibrillators, Public Use Remains Low
Approximately 115,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are reported to UK ambulance services each year—equivalent to around 315 every day. While bystander CPR is provided in up to 72% of cases, defib use remains low at below 10%¹.

Across the UK, efforts are underway to increase defibrillator access in schools, sports facilities and communities. Today, more than 120,000 devices, of which 30,000 have been added since September 2023, are registered on The Circuit, the national defibrillator network².

Polling Highlights Gaps in Bystander Hesitation and Understanding that Anyone Can Use Defibrillators
A recent survey among UK residents, fielded by The Harris Poll on behalf of ZOLL, suggests that uncertainty remains around who can use AEDs and how the devices function:

Nearly half (48%) mistakenly believe special training or experience is needed to help save a life.
Roughly one-third are surprised to learn basic facts about defibrillators: they don’t just shock a victim but give real-time, easy-to-follow audio and visual prompts on how to perform CPR (32%); and they need to be used within 3-5 minutes or the chance of long-term survival diminishes (31%).
Nine in 10 (90%) would want a bystander to use a defib on them if they were having a cardiac event, yet 2 in 5 (40%) feel hesitant to help save a stranger's life in an emergency.
More than half (54%) say they would not feel confident using a defib in an emergency. Yet, 68% say they would feel confident administering help if a nearby “coach” provided real-time instructions on how to perform necessary life-saving aid.

“The critical work to expand defibrillator access is already underway across the UK,” said Keith Reynolds, VP/General Manager Public Safety in ZOLL’s Acute Care Technology division. "Our survey shows hesitation around using defibs still exists. The Anything Can Happen. Anyone Can Help. campaign aims to help ensure that greater access to defibs leads to greater action, and to educate bystanders so that reaching for a defib feels as natural as calling 999 in a cardiac emergency.”

Anything Can Happen. Anyone Can Help. . . On Any Pitch, In Every Playground or Town Centre
First launched in the U.S. in 2024 with professional American football player and cardiac arrest survivor Damar Hamlin, the Anything Can Happen. Anyone Can Help. campaign focuses on increasing public understanding and confidence around defibrillators, including awareness that the devices can empower anyone to help save a life and should be readily accessible in every community.

Visit www.anyonecanhelp.com/UK/ for information and resources to help people better understand defibrillators and how they can help in a cardiac emergency.

Click here for a complete survey fact sheet.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of ZOLL Medical from February 2-5, 2026, among 1,019 adults ages 18 and older in the United Kingdom. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 3.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.

About ZOLL Medical
ZOLL, an Asahi Kasei company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and cardiac monitoring, circulation enhancement and CPR feedback, supersaturated oxygen therapy, data management, ventilation, therapeutic temperature management, and sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, as well as lay rescuers, improve patient outcomes in critical cardiopulmonary conditions. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.

Copyright © 2026 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. ZOLL and Anything Can Happen. Anyone Can Help. are registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Asahi Kasei is a registered trademark of Asahi Kasei Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

¹Epidemiology of cardiac arrest Guidelines | Resuscitation Council UK
²What is The Circuit? - BHF

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929695607/en/

Matt Hogan
ZOLL
+1 (978) 805-6561
media@zoll.com

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