Every second counts. Find the nearest public defibrillator and dial emergency services directly.
An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable device that saves lives during sudden cardiac arrest. It analyzes heart rhythm and delivers an electric shock if needed. Modern devices guide laypeople through every step via voice prompts — no prior training required. In the first 3–5 minutes after cardiac arrest, every minute is the difference between life and death.
Your location data never leaves your device. Geolocation runs entirely in your browser via the navigator.geolocation API, and we send neither coordinates nor movement patterns to our servers. There is no tracking, no profiling cookies, and no account to create — the map works instantly and anonymously.
All AED locations come from OpenStreetMap and are loaded live via the Overpass API. We display every point tagged emergency=defibrillator. OSM is a free, volunteer-maintained world map — data is updated daily but incomplete. If you know of an AED that's missing here, you can add it yourself.
A sudden cardiac arrest looks overwhelming, but the right steps are surprisingly simple. Every minute without defibrillation drops the chance of survival by roughly 10 percent — anyone who acts in the first few minutes saves lives. Follow this sequence, calmly and decisively:
Resuscitation guidelines worldwide describe a five-link "chain of survival": (1) early recognition of cardiac arrest and call for help, (2) immediate bystander CPR, (3) early defibrillation with an AED, (4) advanced care by paramedics, (5) post-resuscitation hospital care. If one link breaks, the chance of survival drops sharply.
Most time is lost before defibrillation. Studies show: people shocked within the first three minutes have a survival rate above 70 percent. After ten minutes without CPR, the chance is essentially zero. That's why an AED within reach is more valuable than any other medical device — and you, reading this right now, are the fastest help available when it counts.
Chest compressions replace the heart's pumping action and keep the brain and organs alive until an AED or a rescue team arrives. There are four things you need to know:
Imperfect CPR is dramatically better than none. If you're unsure: push. Push hard. Push fast. Don't stop.
AEDs are typically mounted in high-traffic public places: train stations, airports, swimming pools, sports venues and gyms, schools and universities, town halls, shopping centers, large office buildings and increasingly at gas stations and in pharmacies. In many cities a green heart-with-lightning logo marks the device.
This map shows every AED registered in OpenStreetMap. The real number is much higher — many devices hang quietly in lobbies and foyers. If you know of an AED that's missing, add it on openstreetmap.org. Every additional entry potentially saves a life.
All locations come from the free world map project OpenStreetMap (OSM). Concretely, every object tagged emergency=defibrillator is queried live via the Overpass API as soon as you zoom into a map area. There's no stale cache — whatever OSM has today is what you see here.
OSM data is maintained by volunteers worldwide — mappers, rescue services, schools, city administrations. In Germany alone, tens of thousands of AEDs are registered, and the number grows daily. Gaps are inevitable, though. If one is missing where you live, adding it on openstreetmap.org only takes a few minutes and helps everyone.
Many countries explicitly protect bystanders who try to help. In the US, Good Samaritan laws in every state shield rescuers from liability for honest mistakes. Germany even makes failing to help a criminal offence (§323c German Criminal Code), and rescuers are insured through the statutory accident insurance. The principle is the same almost everywhere: an imperfect attempt to help is legally protected — doing nothing is not.
What you should know: a lay rescuer is generally not held responsible if the patient suffers something like rib fractures during resuscitation — these injuries are expected with proper chest compressions and considered acceptable. Use of an AED by non-medics is explicitly permitted, and in many countries actively encouraged.
Practically not. The AED itself analyses the heart rhythm before every shock and only fires if defibrillation is actually needed — pressing any button will not trigger an unnecessary shock. And chest compressions still work even if your hand position isn't anatomically perfect. The only real mistake is doing nothing.
Most AED kits include a disposable razor and a towel. For heavy chest hair, stick on the pads, rip them off forcefully (which pulls hair with them), then apply new pads. Wet skin should be dried quickly — water conducts electricity and reduces the shock's effect. In snow, rain, or at a pool: move the patient under shelter if possible, then dry the chest.
Yes. For children below roughly eight years old or 25 kg (55 lb), dedicated pediatric pads are ideal — they reduce the energy delivered. If no child pads are available, current guidelines say it's better to use adult pads than no defibrillation at all. Place them on the chest and back so they don't touch each other.
In the US, the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association run nationwide CPR and AED courses, often as a few-hour weekend class. In the UK, look for St John Ambulance or the British Red Cross; in Germany, the DRK, Malteser, Johanniter or ASB. Many employers cover the cost. Refresh your skills every 2–3 years.
No. Geolocation runs entirely in your browser on your device. We never see your coordinates or search history. The map only queries OSM data for the area visible on screen — anonymously, with no login and no tracking cookies.
During cardiac arrest, the chance of survival drops by roughly 10 percentage points per minute without CPR. After 10 minutes without a shock and without chest compressions, the chance is essentially zero. An automated external defibrillator (AED) — in OSM tagged as emergency=defibrillator — can reverse this curve: every shock delivered within the first 3 minutes raises survival to well above 60 percent. So the only relevant question in such a moment is: where is the nearest AED, and is it reachable right now? The map answers exactly that, without signup, app install or payment.
We rely entirely on OpenStreetMap. The advantage over proprietary AED databases is clear: OSM data are globally available, editable by anyone, and not tied to a single relief organisation's territory. Per AED we additionally show indoor/outdoor, access (publicly accessible vs. private), opening_hours and most importantly defibrillator:location — the free-text description of where exactly in a building the device hangs (e.g. "south-east entrance hall next to the elevator"). In an emergency this description is worth its weight in gold, because it saves you 30 seconds of searching.
The app works offline (service worker, "Add to Home Screen"), because the cellular network or mobile data can fail in an emergency. On first visit, map tiles and icons load into the browser cache; later you only need location data from the device — map and last AED positions remain visible. No account, no tracking. We strongly recommend installing the map on your smartphone home screen as a PWA. It is then just as quickly available as any other app.
The map is not just for emergencies. It is also a prevention tool — for trainers, school leadership and clubs:
defibrillator:location hint to the 112 dispatcher so a helper can run to the device without searching.emergency=defibrillator is enough.All AED locations come from OpenStreetMap and are loaded live from the map view via the Overpass API. OSM data is published under the Open Database License (ODbL). If you know an AED that is not mapped, the entry costs you five minutes: create an account at openstreetmap.org, open the iD editor, drop a node, add the tags emergency=defibrillator, indoor=yes/no, access=yes/private, opening_hours and defibrillator:location — save. After the next refresh, the device appears not only here, but in every OSM-based AED app worldwide.
An OSM map does not replace the dispatch centre's official AED register. Crowdsourcing means: coverage is very good in urban areas, but can be patchy in rural regions. A mapped AED is not necessarily currently maintained, charged and unlocked: even with access=yes set, the device may sit behind a locked door if the branch is closed (which is why we read opening_hours). In a real emergency, step one is therefore always: call 112 (in Europe), or the local equivalent. The dispatcher additionally has access to the official regional AED registers and can cross-check.
Important notice: This content is for education and does not replace a first-aid course or medical advice. In a medical emergency, call your local emergency number immediately: 911 in the US, 112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 119 in Japan, 120 in China.