Defibrillation | 合法醫療器材資訊網

Automatedexternaldefibrillators—Someexternalunits,knownasautomatedexternaldefibrillators(AEDs),automatethediagnosisoftreatablerhythms, ...

Treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias

Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach).[1][2] A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a counter-shock) to the heart. Although not fully understood, this process depolarizes a large amount of the heart muscle, ending the arrhythmia. Subsequently, the bodys natural pacemaker in the sinoatrial node of the heart is able to re-establish normal sinus rhythm.[3] A heart which is in asystole (flatline) cannot be restarted by a defibrillator; it would be treated only by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and medication, and then by cardioversion or defibrillation if it converts into a shockable rhythm.

In contrast to defibrillation, synchronized electrical cardioversion is an electri...