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defibrillation
(redirected from defibrillate)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia 0.07 sec.

defibrillation

Use of electrical stimulation to restore a chaotic heartbeat to a rhythmical pattern. In fibrillation, which may occur in most kinds of heart disease, the heart muscle contracts irregularly; the heart is no longer working as an efficient pump. Paddles are applied to the chest wall, and one or more electric shocks are delivered to normalize the beat.

In patients suffering with arrhythmia, implantable defibrillators are inserted into the chest with leads threading through veins into the right side of the heart. The first was implanted in 1980 and by 1999 around 400,000 had been implanted worldwide.



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Not allowing nurses to defibrillate was contrary to the recommendation of the Australian Resuscitation Council, Dr Finn said.
Even so, Ideker notes that "it only takes 50 milliamps of current to throw a healthy beating heart into fibrillation, but to defibrillate you need 10 amps, or 200 times as much current, to bring it back to a normal rhythm.
For the critical care environment, the ability to transport, defibrillate and view the data at a central station is the best of all worlds," said Lynn Cochran, Director of Cardiovascular In-Patient Services at Edward Hospital and Health Services in Naperville, Ill.
 
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