2. Defibrillator 2
Defibrillator
Defibrillators deliver a brief electric shock to the heart, which enables the heart’s natural
pacemaker to regain control and establish a productive heart rhythm. This is an electronic device
that includes defibrillator paddles and electrocardiogram monitoring. The paddles are paced on
the patient’s chest with a conducting gel ensuring good contact with the skin (You must make
sure that they do not have a pulse or they are not alert, as this could cause a lethal heart rhythm
disturbance or cardiac arrest.). They can be applied directly to the heart like during thoracic
surgery as long as they are sterile internal paddles. If additional defibrillation is required the
paddles should be repositioned exactly to increase the likelihood of further shocks being
effective in stopping the arrhythmia. The patient’s pulse and/or electrocardiogram are continually
monitored when defibrillation is not in progress. Defibrillation continues until the patient’s
condition stabilizes or the procedure is ordered to be discontinued. The American Heart
Association now advocates public access defibrillation; this calls for placing automated external
defibrillators (AEDS) in police vehicles, airplanes, and at public events, etc. The AEDS are
smaller, lighter, less expensive, and easier to use than the early defibrillators. They are
computerized to provide simple, verbal instructions to the operator and to make I impossible to
deliver a shock to a patient whose heart is not fibrillating. The placement of AEDs is likely to
expand to many public locations. There are risks with any defibrillator like skin burns from the
paddles, which are most common and will be treated if necessary. Others are injury to the heart
muscle, abnormal heart rhythms, and blood clots
