What problems can defibrillators fix, and why can’t we use them with all cases? Why is there, apparently, a time limit on their use for a patient?
In: Biology
Your heart muscles are themselves responsible for keeping their rhythm. And they keep in sync by sensing what the rest of the muscle is doing. However there are several conditions that may cause the muscles in the heart to come out of sync with each other. Once you have made sure the underlying cause have been fixed so that the condition does not happen again then you can use a defibrillator to give the heart muscles a jolt so that they all beat at the same time and comes back into rhythm again.
Not all heart problems will cause this condition though. For example if the heart stops there is no muscle contractions to get back in sync. But once you have fixed the cause of the stopped heart it will start up again and may not all start in rhythm so you may need to use a defibrillator then.
And defibrillators do not work unless you have fixed the issue that caused the situation in the first place. It is only used to fix a symptom and not what causes the symptom. So if you have used a defibrillator and the heart muscles is still not in sync then you have not cured the condition and you need to diagnose it and cure it before there is any reason to try the defibrillator again. Sometimes the body is able to cure the issue by its own and sometimes the drugs may take some time to take effect or you may need to give another dose. But it may also be an undiagnosed condition or that there are no cures for the severity the patient have.
Latest Answers