When is it necessary to use a defibrillator?

A defibrillator is a device that discharges a controlled
electric shock to break an arrhythmia. Defibrillation is done in the case of
arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular
tachycardia.

Defibrillation success depends on the
discharging of an appropriate current to obtain the depolarization of the myocardium,
this thing being conditioned by the position of electrodes, transthoracic impedance, the
volume of hman body and the energy of electrical shock.

The
energy used to the first defibrillation in adults is of 200 J, in case of  failure, the
procedure is repeated once again, with 200 J, and the rest of shocks during
resuscitation will be made with an energy of 360 J. There is no limit to the number of
shocks that can be done.

Defibrillation should be performed
in groups of three. Since the three shocks can be made quickly, is not necessary to stop
the sequence  to perform cardiac massage and ventilation. After the third shock, the
device analyzes the heart rhythm again and it will check the pulse. If the rescuer does
not identify the pulse, the resuscitation maneuvers will
be continued.