Many Businesses Don't Have AED Available
Various Forms and Uses of a Defibrillator
A defibrillator is one very essential medical device. When a patient experiences ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia and thus dangerously fast and chaotic heartbeat, defibrillation is done to restore a normal heart rhythm. Also, patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, cardiomyopathy, QT syndromes and survivors of sudden cardiac death need defibrillation. Using defibrillators help prevent cases of cardiac arrest and cardiac death.
For life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, defibrillation is the definitive treatment. In this treatment, a defibrillator is used to deliver a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the affected heart. Before the affected heart suffers from sudden cardiac arrest, defibrillation works to restore normal heart rhythms. It depolarizes a critical mass of the heart muscle, ends the arrhythmia, and reestablishes normal sinus rhythm.
Hallmark Health awards defibrillator to SHS (Saugus Advertiser)Hallmark Health awards defibrillator to SHS (Saugus Advertiser)Hallmark Health System recently awarded five local organizations including the Saugus High Athletic Department with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), a device that can often mean the difference between life and death.
There are different forms and sizes of defibrillators. Those types you see in a hospital are called manual defibrillators or defibrillator paddles or, and they can only be operated by healthcare professionals. On the other hand, the AED can be used by lay people with only less training, which is handy for emergency purposes where no healthcare professional is around. ICDs or implantable cardio-verter defibrillators are implantable in the patient’s chest.
There are both internal and external manual defibrillators. The clinician diagnoses a cardiac condition through external units that work in conjunction with electrocardiogram readers. After the diagnosis, the clinician then decides on the charge in joules to deliver to the patient’s chest, and sends the shock through pads or paddles. Medical knowledge and experience is needed to perform this treatment, thus they are only generally found in hospitals and some ambulances.
Manual internal defibrillators are similar to manual external defibrillators. Only, internal leads which are in direct contact to the heart are used to deliver the shocks. The leads function both ways: either to detect an abnormal rhythm or to deliver the actual shock. Usually, you can find such units in operating rooms, where the chest is likely to be open, or can be easily opened by a surgeon.
For emergency purposes, automated external defibrillators are available. These units rely on computer technology to analyze the heart rhythm and advise whether a shock is needed. AEDs can be used by lay persons, who call for little training. Generally, they are held by qualified personnel who will attend incidents or are PADs or public access defibrillators that can be found in airports, hotels, shopping centers, and corporate or government offices, among others.
Then, there’re implantable cardioverter defibrillators or ICDs. These units are implanted in the patient’s chest, and they may also perform the pacemaking function. ICDs constantly monitor the patient’s heart rhythm, and if needed, also correct an abnormal heart rhythm or arrhythmia according to the device’s programming. In the event of complex arrhythmias, such devices can be combined with a pacemaker.
Those are some of the various forms and uses of a defibrillator. Although they vary in shapes and sizes, all of them aim to convert an unhealthy cardiac rhythm into a more standard rhythm. It plays a significant role in saving lives of people, whether the unit is automated or manual, internal or external, or used by medical professionals or lay men.
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