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Defibrillation is often an important step in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). [6] [7] CPR is an algorithm-based intervention aimed to restore cardiac and pulmonary function. [6] Defibrillation is indicated only in certain types of cardiac dysrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
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)
Rapid defibrillation outside of the hospital improves the chances of survival by as much as 30%, and involves using an automated external defibrillator (AED) to shock the patient's heart. [16] While CPR keeps blood flowing artificially, [17] rapid defibrillation is the only way to restart the heart and reset it to a healthy rhythm. [18]
The procedure allows immediate direct access to the thoracic cavity, permitting rescuers to control hemorrhage, relieve cardiac tamponade, repair or control major injuries to the heart, lungs or thoracic vasculature, and perform direct cardiac massage or defibrillation. The procedure is rarely performed and is a procedure of last resort.
A defibrillator is a machine that produces a defibrillation: electric shocks that can restore the normal heart function of the victim. The common model of defibrillator out of an hospital is the automated external defibrillator (AED), a portable device that is especially easy to use because it produces recorded voice instructions.
The American Heart Association highlights the most important steps of BLS in a "five-link chain of survival." [11] The chain of survival includes early recognition of an ongoing emergency, early initiation of CPR by a bystander, early use of a defibrillator, and early advanced life support once more qualified medical help arrives. Qualified ...
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 ...
Advanced cardiac life support, advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) refers to a set of clinical guidelines established by the American Heart Association (AHA) for the urgent and emergent treatment of life-threatening cardiovascular conditions that will cause or have caused cardiac arrest, using advanced medical procedures, medications, and techniques.