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To perform synchronized electrical cardioversion, two electrode pads are used (or, alternatively, the traditional hand-held "paddles"), each comprising a metallic plate which is faced with a saline based conductive gel. The pads are placed on the chest of the patient, or one is placed on the chest and one on the back.
Moreover, defibrillation is different than synchronized cardioversion. In synchronized cardioversion, a similar approach is utilized in that electrical current is applied to correct an arrhythmia, however this is used in cases where a pulse is present but the patient is hemodynamically unstable, such as supraventricular tachycardia .
In contrast to defibrillation, synchronized electrical cardioversion is an electrical shock delivered in synchrony to the cardiac cycle. [4] Although the person may still be critically ill, cardioversion normally aims to end poorly perfusing cardiac arrhythmias, such as supraventricular tachycardia. [1] [2]
Cardioversion is either achieved pharmacologically or via the application of a shock synchronized to the underlying heartbeat. It is used for the treatment of supraventricular tachycardias. In elective cardioversion, the recipient is usually sedated or lightly anesthetized for the procedure. Defibrillation differs in that the shock is not ...
Atrial fibrillation (AF, AFib or A-fib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) characterized by rapid and irregular beating of the atrial chambers of the heart. [11] [12] It often begins as short periods of abnormal beating, which become longer or continuous over time. [4]
Defibrillation [21] — Defibrillation is the definitive treatment step for those cases of cardiac arrest that involve a shockable rhythm, or one correctable by defibrillation (pulseless unstable ventricular tachycardia, coarse or fine ventricular fibrillation; it will not work for asystole or pulseless electrical activity)
It should not be confused with defibrillation (used in more serious cases, in ventricular fibrillation and other shockable rhythms) using a manual or automatic defibrillator, though some newer defibrillators can do both, and pads and an electrical stimulus to the heart are used in transcutaneous pacing and defibrillation.
Illustration of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or automated implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) is a device implantable inside the body, able to perform defibrillation, and depending on the type, cardioversion and pacing of the heart.