defibrillation
Sign in to saveDefibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). Defibrillation delivers a dose of electric current (often called a counter-shock) to the heart. Although not fully understood, this process depolarizes a large amount of the heart muscle, ending the arrhythmia. Subsequently, the body's natural pacemaker in the sinoatrial node of the heart is able to re-establish normal sinus rhythm. A heart which is in asystole (flatline) cannot be restarted by defibrillation; it would be trea
Key facts
- Medical intervention.name
- Defibrillation
- Medical intervention.image
- Defibrillation Electrode Position.jpg
- Medical intervention.caption
- View of defibrillator electrode position and placement
- Medical intervention.MeshID
- D047548
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
25 sectionsContents
- Use of defibrillators
- Indications
- Application method
- Outcomes
- Types
- Manual models
- Automated external defibrillators
- Cardioverter-defibrillators
- Interface
- Paddle electrodes
- Self-adhesive electrodes
- Placement
- Mechanism
- History
- Closed-chest method
- Direct current method
- Portable units
- Waveform change
- Implantable devices
- Society and culture
- Gallery
- See also
- Citations
- General and cited references
- External links
Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). Defibrillation delivers a dose of electric current (often called a counter-shock) to the heart. Although not fully understood, this process depolarizes a large amount of the heart muscle, ending the arrhythmia. Subsequently, the body's natural pacemaker in the sinoatrial node of the heart is able to re-establish normal sinus rhythm. A heart which is in asystole (flatline) cannot be restarted by defibrillation; it would be treated only by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and medication, and then by cardioversion or defibrillation if it converts into a shockable rhythm. A device that administers defibrillation is called a defibrillator.
In contrast to defibrillation, synchronized electrical cardioversion is an electrical shock delivered in synchrony to the cardiac cycle. Although the person may still be critically ill, cardioversion normally aims to end poorly perfusing cardiac arrhythmias, such as supraventricular tachycardia.