A procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat by applying a large electrical impulse to the chest wall, especially in potentially life-threatening circumstances.
Ceasing heart fibrillation with drugs or physical means.
Administration of electrical shock to restore cardiac muscle conduction and contractions.
The use of electric current to shock the heart into regular rhythm when it is in fibrillation (a potentially fatal abnormal rhythm) or has stopped beating.
An emergency procedure used to stop an uncontrolled, rapid, and ineffective heartbeat by administering an electric shock to the heart. The machine used to provide the shock is known as a defibrillator. An uncontrolled, rapid, and ineffective heartbeat (ventricular fibrillation) often follows a heart attack. If left untreated, it can lead to brain damage or sudden death. The sooner defibrillation is given after ventricular fibrillation sets in, the more likely it is to be effective at preventing death or brain damage.
Administration of a controlled electric shock to restore normal heart rhythm in cases of cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation. The apparatus (defibrillator) administers the shock either through electrodes placed on the chest wall over the heart or directly to the heart after the chest has been opened surgically.
Stopping the fibrillation (a certain type of abnormal contractions) of the heart muscle and restoring the normal heartbeat. The procedure usually is carried out by the use of an electrical shock.
If a heart is fibrillating that is, rapidly beating in a very shallow way almost like vibration it cannot pump blood adequately around the body. Applying an electric shock via paddles applied to the chest wall causes simultaneous electrical depolarisation of all the cardiac cells, and may allow the heart’s natural pacemaker to re-establish a normal rhythm. One paddle is placed below the right clavicle and the other over the cardiac apex. Care must be taken that no one is in contact with the patient or the bed when the shock is given, in order to avoid electrocution.
Termination of ventricular fibrillation (vfib) with electrical countershock(s). This is the single most important intervention a rescuer can take in patients who have suffered cardiac arrest due to vfib or pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
Defibrillation refers to the process of delivering one or more short electric shocks to the heart, typically using two metal plates or paddles positioned on the chest directly over the heart. This procedure aims to restore the heart’s rhythm to a normal state in certain types of arrhythmia, including atrial fibrillation or ventricular fibrillation characterized by irregular or rapid heartbeat.
Defibrillation serves as an emergency procedure for addressing ventricular fibrillation, a leading cause of cardiac arrest that often follows a heart attack. In such cases, defibrillation is swiftly administered. However, it can also be planned as a treatment, carried out under brief general anesthesia. Throughout the procedure, artificial means may be employed to sustain respiration.