Over the past 5-10 years within the United States, we have seen the proliferation of Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) systems. Don't get me wrong. It is great to see so many malls, businesses, schools and more realize the benefits of having emergency medical equipment readily available to the first responders. The fact is, in recent years, many emergency medical devices have become increasingly easy to maintain and deploy. After basic medical kits, AEDs are probably the best example of the most widely available emergency product. AEDs can range in price from about $1,200 up to several thousand dollars, depending on the features you desire.

What most people of do not realize is that AEDs are only useful for a very specific need: sudden cardiac arrest. While about 250,000 people die in the United States every year from cardiac arrest, there are just as many - probably more - people who die in the United States every year because emergency oxygen is not readily available, including not being available for people suffering from sudden cardiac arrest. If you own an AED and are prepared and willing to deploy it, you should absolutely also own a portable emergency oxygen system for use after you have successfully implemented the AED and the person is responding again.

There are some great portable emergency oxygen systems available that range in price from about $300 to $420, which is about 1/4 the price you might - or have already - paid for an AED. Given the wide range of situations where emergency oxygen can be beneficial, everyone should have one or more emergency oxygen systems on-hand. If you are considering buying an AED, you should buy an oxygen system first.

To learn more, visit www.emergencypax.com.