The Heartstream company history

About the heartstream legacy and products

The HeartStream company history

In 1992, Heartstream, Inc. was founded with the mission to develop a small, low-cost, rugged, reliable, safe, easy-to-use, and maintenance-free automated external defibrillator (AED) that could be successfully used by a layperson responding to sudden cardiac arrest. Heartstream introduced its first AED, the ForeRunner, in 1996. The Heartstream ForeRunner AED marked the first widespread commercial use of a biphasic waveform in an external defibrillator.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) purchased Heartstream in 1997. Heartstream then added a relabelled version of the ForeRunner for Laerdal Medical Corporation called the Heartstart FR. In 1999, Hewlett-Packard spun off the Medical Products Group, including the Heartstream Operation, into Agilent Technologies. While part of Agilent, Heartstream introduced a new AED, the Agilent Heartstream FR2. Laerdal Medical marketed this device as the Laerdal Heartstart FR2 Heartstream became part of Philips Medical Systems in 2001 when Philips purchased the entire Medical Group from Agilent Technologies. 

In 2002, Philips re-branded all of their defibrillators as HeartStart Defibrillators. In the same year, Philips introduced a new family of defibrillators, including the HeartStart Home and HeartStart OnSite AEDs.
The total suite of products consists of the following models:

ForeRunner and FR AEDs:

Heartstream ForeRunner
Laerdal Heartstart FR

FR2 series AEDs:

Agilent Technologies FR2
Laerdal Heartstart FR2
Laerdal Heartstart FR2+
Philips HeartStart FR2
Philips HeartStart FR2+

FR3 series AEDs:

Philips HeartStart FR3
Philips HeartStart FR3 ECG

HS1 family of AEDs:

Philips HeartStart OnSite
Laerdal HeartStart
Philips HeartStart Home
Philips HS1

FRx family of AEDs:

Philips HeartStart FRx
Laerdal HeartStart FRx
Philips HeartStart FRx (Aviation)

What this means for old and new clients:

Busines operations: All contracts, invoices, and correspondence will be issued by Heartstream.
Home & Public Products: The HeartStart AED family will continue to use the Philips Brand name for the next 15 years.
Professional Products: The Manual Defibs and Monitors will formally adopt the Heartstream name for general use starting in November. 
Various marketing documents and materials will be re-branded over time.
Customer support: Our dedicated team will continue managing orders, service requests, warranties, and returns seamlessly.
Licenses and compliance: Existing product licenses and warranties remain valid without interruption.

Heartstream’s mission remains clear: to be an essential partner for everyone dedicated to saving lives, delivering solutions “as if the life of someone we love depends on it.”