Why do we use the defibrillator ??

Question

why do we shock the heart, is it because our bodies have electricity in them already?

Answer 1

The shock from the defibrillator shocks the heart to hopefully get it started again.

Answer 2

The only cure for fibrillation is to send a direct current through the heart in the hope that the cells will 'reboot' and all start contracting in an orderly fashion again.

Atrial fibrillation is not lethal in itself, but ventricular fibrillation IS.

The ventricles pump the blood in body and lungs. The effects are immediate and unconsciousness virtually instant.

Cardiac massage provides the pumpmovement, but the actual independent contractions can only be restored after the direct current through the heart. 200J is a usual start and as per protocol 360J the maximum.

I personally have been involved in a few arrests and the record must have been up to 30 shocks when the person finally reverted into a sort of rhythm

Often people give a precordial stump before starting cardiac massage in order to create some sort of shockeffect.

I've never seen that work.

Fibrillation is electric chaos: all cells/group of cells (heart muscle cells) move as they please. As a consequence there is no rhythmic contraction and hence no pump.

On the ECG VF (Ventricular Fibrillation) appears as an obscure wavey pattern without recognisable contraction complexes (known as QRS complexes).

Answer 3

The shock stops the heart- hoping that it will restart itself into a natural healthy rythym- Really

Answer 4

to get it back to its regular rhythm.