Quote:
Originally Posted by zonerboy
No offense intended, but I'm not all that sure I want any of my neighbors zapping my chest. CPR is fine, but I'd just as soon wait for the paramedics to determine if I need shocking.
There are many reasons other than a "cardiac event" that could cause a person to pass out or collapse. And even if the cause is cardiac only a few such situations are responsive to defibrillation.
Just my personal opinion.
Maybe I need to get a tattoo on my chest stating my preferences.
|
I am a former ER nurse, CPR and paramedic instructor which has given me lots of experience on this topic and I am going to suggest to you before you get a NO AED tatt on your chest you may want watch a few videos on youtube to see how an AED actually works. In brief, it is the AED not the responder that determines if you are in ventricular fibrillation and the machine gives the responder voice commands to shock or not to shock. Ventricular fibrillation is the ONLY rhythm and reason which defibrillation is indicated be it determined by an AED machine or a paramedic.
Our hearts are muscles and the mechanism that causes them to pump is electrical. When someone is in ventricular fibrillation they still have electrical activity but it is chaotic and will not cause the heart to pump, but is still in a electrically receptive state for which receiving a shock can often convert the heart to an electrical rhythm that will restore pump action. The time someone is in venticular fibrillation is very brief so seconds count. If V-fib is not reversed then asystole (flat line) follows which is no electrical activity and is extremely difficult to reverse especially if a significant amount of heart muscle damage has taken place.