People most likely to benefit from having a home defibrillator are those with known risk factors for cardiac arrest.
A defibrillator delivers a jolt of energy into the chest to jump-start the heart and reverse sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is caused by an electrical malfunction of the heart that produces a fatally abnormal heart rhythm: The heart quivers and stops pumping blood, and the victim loses consciousness. Cardiac arrest differs from a heart attack, but it is triggered by a heart attack in about half the cases.
Some 80% of sudden cardiac arrests occur in the home. Normal ambulance delays are dangerous in such cases because survival chances drop about 10% every minute that passes without defibrillation. A home defibrillator can be lifesaving.
The home defibrillator tells a user with voice prompts where and how to apply two pads to shock the heart back to normal rhythm. If the problem is not cardiac arrest—and thus cannot be treated with an electrical shock—the defibrillator will not deliver one.
People most likely to benefit from having a home defibrillator are those with known risk factors for cardiac arrest. These include blocked coronary arteries, heart failure, and certain inherited heart abnormalities.
Posted in Heart Health on May 21, 2006
Reviewed July 2009
Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Click here for additional information: Johns
Hopkins Health Alerts Disclaimer
Health Alerts registered users may post comments and share experiences here at their own discretion. We regret that questions on individual health concerns to the Johns Hopkins editors cannot be answered in this space.
The views expressed here do not constitute medical advice, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins Medicine or MediZine LLC, which has no responsibility for any comments posted on this site.
Post a Comment
Comment(offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)
2009 Heart Attack Prevention White Paper Focuses on lifesaving strategies for preventing a first heart attack, with up-to-date information on both established and newly discovered risk factors for heart attack; screening tests that can detect a problem before a heart attack occurs; lifestyle measures and medications that can dramatically lower your risk.Read more...
The Johns Hopkins Hospital has been ranked #1 again in the Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals by U.S. News and World Report for the 19th consecutive year.
