A cardiac or heart defibrillator is a device that delivers an electric shock or pulse to the heart in order to alleviate certain disturbances or failures. Typically the goal is to change a fibrillation, or rapid and irregular rhythm, into a slower and steadier beat that can be managed by a care provider. The shock comes from an electric current that is channeled through the patient’s chest via electrodes or paddles. The current causes the heart muscle to contract, hopefully jolting it back to a more natural pace.
When a person is experiencing cardiac arrest, the most common cause is ventricular fibrillation. Here, the ventricles are contracting in a chaotic fashion that causes the heart to stop pumping sufficient blood. The other form of fibrillation, atrial fibrillation, is more common and much less deadly. It is a disorder found in approximately two million Americans and causes the small upper chambers of the heart, or atria, to quiver rather than beat steadily. Though this isn’t normally a life-threatening condition, atrial fibrillation can cause blood to pool and clot. If this clot becomes lodged in the brain or artery, a stroke can result.
In years past, the image of a cardiac defibrillator has been that of a last resort, life saving measure undertaken in an emergency room by doctors or surgeons. Although this is still often the setting in which they are used, recent years have seen heart defibrillators become increasing common in the general public for life saving measures.
Specifically, the automated external defibrillator has become a fixture in places such as airports, casinos and various sports arenas. When using the automated external defibrillator, the machine automatically determines whether a shock is needed and selects the appropriate level of energy. Therefore they are an effective tool for those not in the medical field who wish to keep a defibrillator on hand is case of a sudden cardiac attack.
Heart defibrillators have even become common in the home as a method of saving lives. Studies have shown that the vast majority of heart attacks or cardiac arrests occur within the home, but until recently the defibrillator was too bulky and cumbersome an apparatus to keep there. Now with portable cardiac defibrillators, family members have more methods for saving the life of a loved one than simple CPR.
The American Heart Association has sought to continue broadening access to and education on the use of cardiac defibrillators in hopes of helping regular citizens save the lives of victims of cardiac arrest when professional medical attention is unavailable. Though some experts have expressed concern over possible misuse or over-reliance on portable or automated defibrillators, it can surely be said that any device that promotes education and readiness for life saving measures among the general public can only be a good thing.
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Defibrillator Training
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Sophisticated medical equipment requires trained personnel to operate them. In case of life saving equipment like defibrillators it becomes all the more important for the persons handling such gadgets to be highly competent with them. Anyone can be trained to administer the shock that could...
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The Function of Automated External Defibrillators
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are not vastly dissimilar from the ones many of us have seen for years on medical shows or in emergency rooms at hospitals. The device exists to correct a fibrillation, or irregular heart rate that is negatively impacting blood flow, but...
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Defibrillator Manufacturers
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Each year, more than 250,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest. As per medical experts, it is vital to have a chain of sustaining events, which includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation. With recent technological advances, a portable lifesaving device called the automated external defibrillator has been invented....
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The Benefits of Portable Defibrillators
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The onset of the portable defibrillator has single-handedly taken the life saving measures of the cardiac defibrillator out of the exclusive domain of the emergency room, and into the hands of a general public now able to help fight the tragedy of death by sudden...
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Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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While many people might be most familiar with the external defibrillators seen on TV, in emergency rooms or at sporting events, there are similar devices that, although less obvious in their use, serve the same purpose of restoring proper heart rhythms and thus averting possible...
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Defibrillator Pads
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Defibrillator pads are a useful tool for the management of life-threatening arrhythmias that occur during complex or reoperative cardiac surgical procedures. During these, internal defibrillation cannot be achieved. So two self-adhesive external pads are attached to the patient before the delivery of current for defibrillation...
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Biphasic Defibrillators
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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A defibrillator is an instrument that carries out defibrillation on the chambers of the heart. When the device is implanted in the user, it is known as an implantable cardioverter or internal cardiac defibrillator (ICD). Traditionally, monophasic waveforms were used in these implements but research...
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Heart Attacks
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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A heart attack is the result of blockages in the coronary arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. These blockages pause or cease blood flow into the heart, leading to pain in and the eventual death of the heart muscle. Since the heart...
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CPR Classes
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) classes range from the traditional, wherein you have to attend classes from anywhere between four to six hours or online classes that have additional hands-on skill classes. Most courses teach how to recognize an emergency, caring for conscious and unconscious choking victims,...
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Emergency Medical Transport
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Emergency medical transport is usually mentioned in context with insurance-related medical services. Where an insurance policy is supported by an emergency medical treatment rider, the policy holder can avail of pre-approved emergency medical transport when required. The response times and costs involved in emergency medical...