Defibrillation: 10 minute chance of saving lives
Defibrillation is the process by which ventricular fibrillation is removed. Fibrillation or ventricular fibrillation is a pathological condition when there are no effective contractions of the heart.
This state cannot stop at one moment, it is possible only with the help of electrical defibrillation.
Modern Defibrillators
Now devices for intensive care and resuscitation have many possibilities. They use a biphasic pulse shape. This means that the current passes through the heart twice in a short passage of time. But at the same time, the pulse power is reduced, and the myocardium is less injured. This equipment ensures patient and staff safety.
If earlier defibrillators were heavy stationary equipment, now they are lightweight portable products that can operate on mains, battery, and even batteries.
The REMA-21 defibrillator monitor provides electropulse therapy during resuscitation and treatment of persistent and sudden cardiac rhythm disturbances. The equipment is ideally adapted to the conditions of emergency medical care and in the hospital, and in the ambulance. Biphasic pulse form is a modern solution that assumes the passage of current through the heart twice in a short time. Due to this, the impulse is less powerful and brings less harm to the myocardium.
What characteristics of a defibrillator make it the best?
Since Paul Probe in 1956 proposed the idea of using electric current to restore heart rate, defibrillators have undergone many changes. For more than half a century, scientific studies and observations have taken place, which help to understand which method of electrical influence is the most effective and, at the same time, least traumatic for the tissues of the body.
In particular, in the study of the effects of bipolar-shaped phases of defibrillation impulses on a cardiomyocyte membrane, Russian scientists have identified a certain pattern. If we start from the threshold excitation of the cardiomyocyte membrane according to the Luo-Rudy model, then the most effective impulses are: quasi-sinusoidal stepped, classic quasi-sinusoidal and trapezoidal with a gentle front and a cut.
The study allowed the scientific position to be advanced that the quasi-sinusoidal bipolar pulse form is the “gold standard” of ventricular defibrillation of the heart.
The prevalence of defibrillators in developed countries
In the United States and European countries, special programs are being implemented that provide for the installation of not only medical facilities with automatic defibrillators. They are supposed to be installed in places where there are always a large number of people, in particular, railway stations, schools, concert halls, airports, hotels. The defibrillator with the automatic mode of operation is able to independently track the rhythm of the heart muscle and, if necessary, suggests defibrillation. In order to use such a device, you do not need knowledge of cardiology or professional experience.
Experts from Britain believe that the installation of such equipment can save thousands of lives in the next 10 years. United States airports have introduced a mandatory rule, according to which every plane must have a defibrillator. If there is none, the plane has no right to land at the airport of America.
Application in Ukraine
Why is defibrillation rate delivery critical?
When the heart stops pumping blood, every cell in the body undergoes oxygen starvation. The brain is particularly affected in this regard. If the cell does not receive oxygen, it dies. Therefore, oxygen starvation can make a healthy person a disabled person of varying severity.
Only 30% of people survive after cardiac arrest. And only 3.5% of people continue their normal lives without serious health problems. It is crucial to provide assistance in the first minutes of heart fibrillation. Each subsequent minute reduces the chance of survival by 10%. Therefore, the quality of equipment – without exaggeration, is a vital aspect of the work method.
