Cardiovascular system Defibrillator

Defibrillator: The fast cardiac arrhythmias (tachyarrhythmias) that are originated from the ventricles are the most dangerous ones and can cause sudden death. The ventricular fibrillation is characterized by fast, irregular, and uncoordinated heartbeats and, therefore, the heart is not able to pump blood to the brain and other organs. This is the main cause of sudden death from cardiac origin. Without an immediate treatment with electrical shock to recover the normal rhythm, the patient loses conscience and dies in a few minutes.

Similar to a pacemaker, the defibrillator can be implanted in the patient aiming to prevent a sudden death. The most frequent cases for indication are:
– Patients who suffered a cardiac arrest and were successfully reanimated;
– Ventricular arrhythmias (tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation) detected by exams;
– Some congenital diseases with higher chance of sudden death;
– Ejection fraction (measurement of the heart contraction force) lower than 35%.

Support notes

Pacemaker: Stimulation system with electrical impulses implanted when there is some defect in the blood pumping from the heart to the remaining body. Click here to go to the page of Pacemaker and to know more about this subject.