Tv and movies show them as a magical heart restart machine, bringing people back from the dead. But I’ve heard medical professionals say that’s not true, but they never elaborate. I’ve seen portable ones everywhere, so they must be needed fairly regularly.
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They’re used when the heart goes into fibrillation, which causes cardiac arrest – the heart is twitching uncontrollably out of rhythm. You’ve still got a heart-beat, but it’s completely ineffective and your brain will run out of oxygen real fast. The defibrillator shocks it back into normal rhythm.
They are NOT used when someone has a heart attack, and their heart is flat-lining, contrary to what you’ll see on TV.
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