According to the American Heart Association, defibrillation does not restart the heart; it stuns the the heart briefly to allow the heart's natural pacemakers to resume electrical activity. Knowing the proper procedure for defibrillation can save...
The cardiac defibrillator is a life-saving device used to give the heart a controlled electric shock to jolt it back to beating normally. According to a May 2004 study published in "Medscape Cardiology," cardiac defibrillators are best used in...
Prior to the advent and use of heart defibrillators, the survival rate from a sudden cardiac arrest was very poor. The only tools that rescuers and non-medical trained bystanders had was CPR. Today defibrillators are available and widely used in...
Cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart stops beating due to several reasons including irregular heart beats. According to the American Heart Association, most cases of cardiac arrest that result in sudden death are caused by abnormal...
Sudden cardiac arrest is often associated with the elderly, but the heart can suddenly stop beating in people of all ages. According to 2004 information from the American Heart Association, more than 250,000 people die each year from sudden...
Performing CPR properly can mean the difference between life and death. CPR, which stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is an emergency procedure done when someone's breathing or heartbeat has stopped. CPR techniques vary depending on the age...
There are three kinds of defibrillators--machines designed to deliver a shock to the heart when it goes into a life threatening rhythm. One type, the external defibrillator, is used in and out of the hospital. External defibrillators in hospitals...
Ventricular fibrillation, or V-Fib, is when the heart loses its normal rhythm. The heart is regulated by electrical impulses generated by an SA node in the right ventricle. If the electrical signal gets jammed, the heart quivers, or fibrillates,...
Heart defibrillators are used to treat cardiac arrest--a disease in which the heart stops beating due to several reasons. They are used to treat cardiac arrest caused by irregular heart beats--heart beats that are too fast or erratic. The role of...
Although having a passion for fitness and teaching is helpful for becoming a personal trainer, the desire alone is not enough to pursue this career. You must obtain a personal trainer certification through an accredited organization such as the...
TENS, or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, is a nonsurgical technique to relieve pain. A TENS unit can be used for severe nerve pain by directly targeting where the pain is.
High potassium levels can lead to a type of heart attack called sudden cardiac arrest. Unlike regular heart attacks, sudden cardiac arrest is characterized by a sudden and unexpected cessation of your heartbeat. A sudden cardiac arrest usually...
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training saves many lives each year. You don't have to be a medical professional to become a cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiac care provider. Getting certified in CPR is as simple as...
Chloroform was originally a form of anesthesia and was used in a lot of over-the-counter medicines like cough syrup. It's been banned from consumer products for many years, and most doctors now use more reliable anesthetics. People are now mostly...
The heart muscle itself is fed by the coronary arteries, and coronary heart disease causes fatty buildup of plaque within the coronary arteries, a process called atherosclerosis. Narrowing of the coronary arteries prevents the heart muscle from...
The average healthy adult has a heart rate of about 70 beats per minute, or 100,800 beats each day. Many heart conditions such as bradycardia, tachycardia, heart attack, cardiogenic shock, valve disorders, high blood pressure, blood clots,...
High serum potassium, or hyperkalemia, is dangerous, and it can become fatal if you ignore signs and symptoms of the electrolyte imbalance. Normal serum potassium levels range from 3.6 to 4.8 mEq/L. Hyperkalemia is associated with potassium levels...
Fainting, or syncope, is fairly common, but fortunately it is not usually serious. Syncope occurs when you briefly lose muscle tone and consciousness for a period of time lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes. In true syncope, recovery does...
Heart rate is controlled by electrical impulses sent throughout the heart muscle. Disruption to the electrical conduction system can alter the rate at which the heart beats. Tachycardia and bradycardia are abnormal heart rates.
The heart is one of the most important organs in the body; if it fails or is diseased, our quality of life can be dramatically altered. Four common cardiac diseases include heart failure, atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias. Some of...
DHA and EPA are two of the most significant omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish oil. Scientific evidence indicates that regular consumption of both may significantly decrease the risk of a number of potentially serious health conditions, notes...
AED is the acronym for Automated External Defibrillation. It's the hallmark of an emergency response to sudden cardiac arrest. Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the occurrence of sudden cardiac arrest at one...
Although the use of magnets to heal pain dates back to the Ancient Greeks, its effectiveness remains scientifically unproven. Individual and random accounts seem to promise real potential for magnetic healing, if adequate trials are conducted to...
A pacemaker is a medical device that is inserted into the body in order to regulate abnormal heart rhythms. Pacemakers exert their therapeutic effect by emitting a a low electrical current that stimulates the heart muscle to contract. There are...
An electrical muscle stimulator (EMS) is a portable device that uses electrical current to force muscle contraction. According to the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), using an EMS unit over a long period may increase strength, but...
If you are a ventricular fibrillation (VF) survivor or have other heart problems, you have a high risk of experiencing another episode of the "disorganized" or extremely irregular heartbeat. To be prepared for future situations, it is highly...
In the United States, there is no basic level 2 first aid certification. However, receiving a first aid certification in the United States requires thorough and on-site training. Red Cross is the leading training facility for those who want to...
According to the American Heart Association, many individuals with sustained tachycardia, or irregular heart rate, benefit from the use of a implantable cardioverter defibrillator -- ICD -- or pacemaker. These devices can detect an irregular heart...
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) suggests that magnets have been used over a century for alleviating pain and have been particularly useful in helping patients with osteo-arthritic pain. Magnets may utilize...
