Defibrillators are medical devices that transmit an electric shock or pulse to a person’s heart to revive the normal heartbeat and function. Medical practitioners use them to correct or prevent an uneven heartbeat that’s too fast or too slow (Arrhythmia) and restart the heart if it suddenly stops.
There are three main types of defibrillators: AEDs, WCDs, and ICDs. These types have different functions and uses, as explained below.
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)
An Automated External Defibrillator is a battery-operated, portable, lightweight device that examines the heart’s rhythm and conveys an electric shock to the heart to restore a proper rhythm. Medical practitioners use this device to help persons having a cardiac arrest.
Several public places have AED that people, including untrained bystanders, use to resuscitate individuals suffering from a cardiac arrest. The AED has sticky pads with electrodes or sensors attached to the chest of the patient, and it sends information about the patient’s heart rhythm to a computer in the defibrillator.
The computer then evaluates the heart rhythm to determine whether the patient needs an electric shock, and if required, the electrodes transmit the electric shock.
Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillators (WCDs)
A Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator has sensors you can attach to the skin. Wires link the sensors to a unit that analyzes your heart rhythm and sends electric shocks when necessary. A WCD delivers high-energy and low-energy shocks to your heart.
It has a belt you can attach to a vest and then wear under your clothing. Your doctor sets the device to your size and programs it to detect a particular heart rhythm. The sensors can know when you have arrhythmia and give you a signal to turn off if you don’t need an electric shock.
If there’s no response, the device will shock your heart to rectify your heart’s rhythm, which happens within a minute. The device can send multiple electric shocks during an attack, and you must replace the sensors after each incident. It can also report your heart’s activity to your physician.
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICDs)
Your doctor places an ICD in your stomach or chest area through surgery where the defibrillator can test for arrhythmias. Arrhythmias can prompt your heart to stop beating or impede blood flow from your heart to your body.
The Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator delivers an electric shock to resuscitate a proper heart rhythm. It can give off a high-energy electric shock to rectify an irregular or fast heartbeat or a low-energy shock to slow down or speed up an unusual heart rate.
The device first sends a low-energy shock, but it may shift to a high-energy shock for defibrillation if it doesn’t restore your regular heart rate. Pacemakers are similar to ICDs, but pacemakers transmit only low-energy shocks.
An ICD has a generator attached to wires that observes your heart’s rhythm and transmits an electric shock when you need one. Some have wires that lay inside one or two heart chambers, while others have no wires in your heart chambers but rather lay on your heart to regulate its rhythm.
An ICD can also record and send your heart’s rhythm and electrical activity to your doctors, which helps them program the device to correct your arrhythmia better and react to the type of arrhythmia you’re likely to have.
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