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Cardioversion is a medical procedure by which an abnormally fast heart rate (tachycardia) or other cardiac arrhythmia is converted to a normal rhythm using electricity or drugs. Synchronized electrical cardioversion uses a therapeutic dose of electric current to the heart at a specific moment in the cardiac cycle , restoring the activity of the ...
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 .
Cardioversion should be synchronized to the R wave in order to avoid degeneration of the rhythm to ventricular fibrillation, if possible. [15] An initial energy of 100J is recommended. [ 15 ] If the waveform is polymorphic, then higher energies and an unsynchronized shock should be provided (also known as defibrillation).
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.
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 ...
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.
Defibrillation cannot be applied to asystole and CPR must be initiated first in this case. A similar concept, cardioversion, utilizes the same defibrillation machine but is used for other rhythms such as atrial fibrillation and supraventricular tachycardia. In these rhythms, the machine is "synchronized" to the QRS complex to avoid shocking on ...
An automated external defibrillator or automatic electronic defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, [1] and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of electricity which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to re ...