What is cardioversion and defibrillation?

What is cardioversion and defibrillation?

There is an important distinction between defibrillation and cardioversion: Defibrillation — Defibrillation is the asynchronous delivery of energy, such as the shock is delivered randomly during the cardiac cycle. Cardioversion — Cardioversion is the delivery of energy that is synchronized to the QRS complex.

What is defibrillation in the heart?

Defibrillators are devices that send an electric pulse or shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat. They are used to prevent or correct an arrhythmia, an uneven heartbeat that is too slow or too fast. If the heart suddenly stops, defibrillators can also help it beat again.

What is the difference between shock and defibrillation?

Defibrillation is used to treat patients in cardiac arrest who do not have a pulse, as well as patients with certain types of arrhythmias. A defibrillation shock from an AED is a more powerful shock than those delivered during cardioversion, resetting scrambled signals and enabling the heart to beat normally.

What do cardioversion and defibrillation have in common?

Cardioversion and defibrillation are both treatments which treat abnormal heart rhythms, called arrhythmias.

What is defibrillation important?

Defibrillation reverses the cardiac arrest by sending an electrical current through the heart muscle cells, momentarily stopping the abnormal electrical energy and allowing the normal heart beat to resume.

What do defibrillation and cardioversion have in common?

Both defibrillation and synchronized cardioversion impose a therapeutic dose of electrical energy on the myocardium. Defibrillation is used to treat certain types of arrhythmias (ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia).

When do you defib a patient?

Why is defibrillation considered a life-saving procedure?

So defibrillation is a life saving procedure for which no other options exist. Since defibrillation involves the delivery of a high voltage shock, multiple high voltage shocks can cause some damage to the heart muscle. Damage to heart muscle can manifest as elevation of heart muscle enzymes in the blood and ST segment elevation on the ECG.

Does defibrillation cause damage to the heart?

Since defibrillation involves the delivery of a high voltage shock, multiple high voltage shocks can cause some damage to the heart muscle. Damage to heart muscle can manifest as elevation of heart muscle enzymes in the blood and ST segment elevation on the ECG.

What is the relationship between defibrillation and survival in ventricular fibrillation?

This increased survival is due to defibrillation being performed closer to the onset of VF. [1][2][3] Anatomy and Physiology Ventricular fibrillation occurs when the normal transmission of the cardiac impulse through the heart’s electrical conduction system is interrupted.

Do implanted defibrillators work for atrial fibrillation?

Implanted defibrillators give life-saving shocks, but if you have atrial fibrillation, may go off for the wrong reasons. Defibrillators aren’t meant to treat atrial fibrillation, but afib can trigger a shock. Thinkstock