There are different types of defibrillators. Some are external, transvenous, or implanted. It really depends upon why the device is used. Some of them, such as the automated external defibrillators (AEDs), are so user friendly, that the common person is able to use them successfully with little, or in some cases no, training at all.
Even the word defibrillation has a very difficult sound to it. Although it is more commonly known as the best treatment for the cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation, or tachycardia, defibrillation is most simply a device that delivers a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the heart in need.
If you have ever seen a defibrillator, it is made up of the main unit and is equipped with a set of two lightweight electrodes. The electrodes are placed directly on or in the patient, depending upon what type is being used, with the most common being the external defibrillator, in which electrodes, or "pads" are placed at different points on the torso of the person in need.
As a point of history, defibrillation was first demonstrated in 1899 by Prevost and Batelli, two physiologists from University of Geneva, Switzerland. Their research showed that small electric shocks could induce ventricular fibrillation in dogs, and that larger electrical shocks would actually reverse the condition.
The primary uses of a defibrillator are for those suffering from a heart condition that will, at times, allow little or no forward blood flow, leading to circulatory arrest followed quickly by death. Modern technology has made the availability of defibrillators for home use much more common. Commercial companies are creating and distributing them to those that suffer from heart related illnesses.
This increase in defibrillator distribution is helping to many families extend the lives of loved ones that might otherwise have been dead without the use of this medical tool.Defibrillators have been around in crude form since the 1940s. In fact the first life saved using a defibrillator was in 1947, when Claude Beck successfully revived a young patient using an open-chest defibrillation device. Since the 1980's though the science has been evolving into a very precise and technically efficient system.
Internal and external defibrillators are now far safer and more efficient than they ever have been. Ask yourself this question: If you or a loved one has a heart condition that would merit purchasing a defibrillator, don't you need to go to your doctor and get a prescription for one? It could very well save your life and the lives of your loved ones in the near future.
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