BANGOR – A federal grant of $276,205 has been awarded to Maine for rural communities to purchase automated external defibrillators and to train first responders in their use, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The grants are authorized by the Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act and total $12.5 million in federal funds.

These devices provide an electric shock to restart a heart that has suddenly stopped beating. By equipping first responders with such devices, the chances of saving the life of a cardiac arrest patient are increased. For every minute that passes after cardiac arrest occurs, chances of survival decrease by 10 percent.