A defibrillator is a machine which is used to stop a person’s heart with a jolt of electricity. In the brief moment the heart is stopped it can reset and begin to beat normally. The device is used when a heart begins to go into cardiac arrest; the heart either slows down or speeds up wildly as a result of a disruption in the electrical pulses that naturally pass through the heart.
Cardiac arrest takes the lives of countless people every year, in the US, the American Heart Association places the number of deaths daily at 700. Many people are not aware of the differences between a sudden cardiac arrest and a heart attack; the words “heart attack” are generally used whenever an individual is struck with either.
A heart attack is caused when there is a blockage in the flow of blood into the heart; the symptoms are chest pain, nausea and shortness of breath. In almost all cases the victim remains conscious. A victim of sudden cardiac arrest never remains conscious, the heart instantly fails to pump blood to the body and the brain begins to shut the vitals down, including breathing. A heart attack victim has a few different forms of assistance available, not so with a victim of SCA, the only device available is a defibrillator such as a Zoll AED Plus. As time is of the essence, it is understandable why many organizations which attract a large number of people have AEDs stationed throughout the area.
If the SCA takes place in a hospital, the patient will be subjected to a highly complex defibrillator which can only be fully understood and employed by trained medical personnel. Obviously, if the cardiac arrest happens in a public place, this machine and the skilled personnel are not available. This is why AEDs, Automated External Defibrillator’s have become the norm in schools, gyms, offices and airports. These machines are light weight, portable and can be used by a layman who has no knowledge of medical practice.
These devices such as the Zoll AED Plus are automated; they determine if the patient needs defibrillation or CPR, it is not the choice of the layman. Once the pads have been properly adhered to the victim’s chest, the machine does everything else.
