Archives for “shocking the heart”
Answer: No, recovery (if any) from defibrillation after suffering from a shockable rhythm is a delayed process. Time down before defibrillation has been shown to be equatable to potential recovery time after a shock. Link to this post!
A flat-line on a cardiac monitor indicates a asystolic heart rhythm. Asystolic or Asystole means that there is no electrical heart activity. Unlike TV, in real life, use of a defibrillator provides no valid treatment for asystole or a flatline. You can not shock a flatline (or asystole) back into a regular rhythm or restart [...]
1:) Hairy Chest: If the victim has a hairy chest you will need to remove the hair prior to placing the AED pads on the victims chest. You may do this with a razor that is typically found with an AED or by attaching one set of AED pads and pulling them off forcibly removing [...]
Automated External Defibrillator’s (or AED’s) are devices that treat the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest by delivering a electrical shock to a persons body. What an AED treats is an abnormal heart rhythm called Ventricular Fibrillation (or V-Fib) that causes the heart to stop circulating blood. V-Fib is a heart condition in which [...]
Matthew A. Carter is the Lead Developer and Editor of FirstAidReference.com. Matt is an Emergency Medical Technician and nationally recognized EMS Educator & CPR Instructor. He has extensive public safety experience and has trained and certified thousands of individuals in the topics of CPR, First Aid, and Emergency Medical Services working across the United States.