Contents
- 1 Sudden Cardiac Arrest Can Happen
to Seemingly Healthy Individual - 2 Automated External Defibrillator Comes To The
Rescue - 3 How To Use the
Heart Defibrillator - 4 Final Thoughts
People who have already experienced one heart attack in their lifetime, either silent or noticeable, are at an elevated risk of suffering from another heart attack in the future. They also have a much higher risk of suffering abnormal heart rhythms that can cause a sudden death in a matter of minutes; a condition referred to medically as sudden cardiac arrest.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Can Happen to Seemingly Healthy Individual
What is even more threatening is the fact that sometimes perfectly healthy individuals can suffer from sudden cardiac arrest and have the exact same risk of dying if help is not received in time. Given the fact that there is only a two to three minute window during which help can be administrated before a person is dead, sudden cardiac arrest is usually a killer in most cases.
This is due to the fact that when the heart stops beating oxygen is not delivered to the brain because an individual stops breathing as well. Therefore, the risk of coma, seizures, and brain death is very high and will not take very long to occur. With this in mind, having a device on hand such as a home defibrillator that can help to get the heart started again could mean the difference between life and death for your loved ones.
Automated External Defibrillator Comes To The Rescue
An automated external defibrillator is a small device that takes the place of the electric shock panels that you might have seen used when a patient is having heart trouble in an emergency room. While the home version is only a miniature version of what you may at a hospital, it is able to deliver enough of a shock to get the heart back into normal sinus rhythmic activity so that the person will stay alive until help arrives and they are able to get professional medical care.
It usually comes in a small compact case and can be easily stowed away in any medical cabinet until the time comes that it needs to be used. Most home defibrillators have batteries that will last around three to four years, making them items that you can purchase and keep in a safe place until they are needed, much like you would hang onto a fire extinguisher in the hopes that you will never need it, but have peace of mind that it is there if an emergency should occur.
How To Use the Heart Defibrillator
The obvious concern of most people is how to safely use the home defibrillator, but even this is not hard because the defibrillators usually have a sensor built into them that can sense the rhythm, or lack of rhythm, in a person’s chest.
Therefore, they are aware of the level of shock that a person needs to receive and will judge the situation for the user. Thus, the only thing you have to physically due is place the device on the person’s chest that has passed out from a sudden cardiac arrest and there is no danger of delivering a shock to someone that does not need it.
Of course, the downside is that you cannot use the home defibrillator on yourself.
Not only will you be unconscious if you suffer cardiac arrest, but there would be no way to administer the treatment anyhow. If there are more than two people in a home or you live in an area that receives frequent treatment it is still a wise product to invest in because if someone is home when you have a sudden cardiac
arrest you will have still perpetually saved your own life by simply having it on hand.
Many times CPR will also have to be administered, requiring a second person in order to optimize your chances of living after sudden cardiac arrest.
Final Thoughts
Sudden cardiac arrest is a condition that can strike anyone regardless of their age; therefore, it is something that should be taken seriously.
In the same way that you would protect your loved ones and prevent them from injury with a smoke detector, child seat, or even something simply such as placing sunscreen on them, you will want to make sure to protect your family from the risk of a deadly heart attack by purchasing an automated external defibrillator and keeping it to hand.