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Cardioversion is a medical procedure by which an abnormally fast heart rate (tachycardia) or other cardiac arrhythmia is converted to a normal rhythm using electricity or drugs. Synchronized electrical cardioversion uses a therapeutic dose of electric current to the heart at a specific moment in the cardiac cycle , restoring the activity of the ...
Advanced cardiac life support, advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) refers to a set of clinical guidelines established by the American Heart Association (AHA) for the urgent and emergent treatment of life-threatening cardiovascular conditions that will cause or have caused cardiac arrest, using advanced medical procedures, medications, and techniques.
Defibrillation threshold indicates the minimum amount of energy needed to return normal rhythm to a heart that is beating in a cardiac dysrhythmia. Typical examples are the minimum amount of energy, expressed in joules , delivered by external defibrillator paddles or pads, required to break atrial fibrillation and restore normal sinus rhythm .
Otherwise, immediate cardioversion is recommended, preferably with a biphasic DC shock of 200 joules. [2] In those in cardiac arrest due to ventricular tachycardia, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation is recommended. [5] Biphasic defibrillation may be better than monophasic. [5]
Defibrillation is often an important step in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). [6] [7] CPR is an algorithm-based intervention aimed to restore cardiac and pulmonary function. [6] Defibrillation is indicated only in certain types of cardiac dysrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
Precordial thump is a medical procedure used in the treatment of ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia under certain conditions. The procedure has a very low success rate, but may be used in those with witnessed, monitored onset of one of the "shockable" cardiac rhythms if a defibrillator is not immediately available.
Cardiac nursing is a nursing specialty that works with patients who suffer from various conditions of the cardiovascular system. Cardiac nurses help treat conditions such as unstable angina , cardiomyopathy , coronary artery disease , congestive heart failure , myocardial infarction and cardiac dysrhythmia under the direction of a cardiologist.
It should not be confused with defibrillation (used in more serious cases, in ventricular fibrillation and other shockable rhythms) using a manual or automatic defibrillator, though some newer defibrillators can do both, and pads and an electrical stimulus to the heart are used in transcutaneous pacing and defibrillation.