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YSK Defibrillators doesn't restart a stopped heart
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2023
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I've heard this before and looked it up, but I found this article from the NIH that contradicts what you're saying.
The way a defibrillator works with a stopped heart is by analysing, and it that way it does "help it beat again". But it won't shock a stopped heart. The name says it all; it de-fibrillates. The heart has to be fibrillating for it to be de-fibrillated; the shock can only correct an archaic rythmn, not the absence of rythmn.
If there's no electric activity, the person needs meds like epinephrine, not a shock.
The thing with TV shows, is that they often show a flat line on an ECG monitor and then shock the patient, which is basically useless except at burning the patient's skin and stopping effective compressions during CPR. The kind of ECG we should see during a shock is atrial fribrillation (a-fib) and ventricular fibrillation (v-fib). Those should have a very wavy ECG line.
Source: am nurse (edit: a better nurse corrected me on some differences between shocking for a defibrillation and for a cardioversion, go read their comment)
Just to clarify your post because there is enough confusion as it is. Atrial fibrillation is not a rhythm we defibrillate. While it can be dangerous it is not a deadly rhythm but could definitely deteriorate into one if there is unchecked rapid ventricular response. Even then we don't defib afib, we cardiovert it or use medical management. Underneath the mess there is an intrinsic heart beat you don't want to disturb. If you defib afib you will likely cause more harm than good
The only rhythms we defibrillate are ventricular fibrillation and pulseless vtach.
We do not use any electricity for asystole or pulseless electrical activity.
We cardiovert afib and supraventricular tachycardia.
Shock is a term used loosely but I wanted to further clarify so people won't run around shaking their fist that no one is defibrillating their afib.
Source: also nurse
Thanks for clarifying! I'm at the end of my cert. for arythmias and sometimes the cardioversion and defib get jumbled up since they're both electrical processes (albeit at very different strength).
There are certain devices that do do that, but it's not a defibrillator. A defibrillator will stop/prevent an arrhythmia by stopping the heart, and letting it restart on its own (hoping that it goes to a normal rhythm), and delivering further shocks if it gets back into one.
The device you're looking for to help a heart beat again would be a pacer, or a pacemaker, which will shock the heart to force it to pump, and restore rhythm that way. They're commonly used for conditions like heart failure, if the heartbeat generation systems/internal pacemaker can't generate a heartbeat quickly enough to sustain life.
not really.