Image description
The image shows a medical device with the role of defibrillation, respectively providing electrical shocks to the heart, designed to regulate an arrhythmia or stop a life-threatening cardiac arrest.
The Automated External Defibrillator (AED), viewed from the front, first detects a heartbeat that requires an electric shock or impulse to adjust or restart it.
The AED consists of the defibrillator machine, the installation and the control panel with the activation buttons, being a portable medical device, also used on ambulances.
The defibrillator box has a heart rate monitor that allows you to monitor the heart rate, highlighted by a horizontal and blank rectangle with rounded corners, in the center of which is a broken line with sharp ups and downs, representing the rhythm of the heartbeat.
To the right of the display are the shock buttons, analysis button, and the on / off functions, rendered by a larger, embossed circle with a sharp tip at the top, along with two other smaller circles below.
The connecting wires between the device and the electrodes or the adhesive defibrillator pads are attached to the defibrillator.
These electric shock conductors are highlighted by two wavy and thickened lines, one on the left and one on the right.
The two defibrillator pads or electrodes ensure the energy transfer of the defibrillation to the body by sticking them to the patient’s chest.
The AED defibrillator pads, located at the bottom, are rendered by a rectangle with rounded corners, filled with grid texture, on in the left corner and the other on the right.
General information
The heart is one of the vital organs without which man could not live. It is intended to pump blood, which carries oxygen and other nutrients to tissues. The muscle of the heart, which contracts and ensures the pumping of blood into the body, is called myocardium. This muscle contracts and relaxes inside a cavity, thus putting the blood into motion. Myocardial contractions generate the pulse, i.e. a pressure that the blood exerts on the vessels at each contraction of the heart. Pulse shows how many times per minute the vessels expand and contract at the action of the myocardium and is an indicator for the health of the heart.
Another indicator to determine whether the heart is working properly is the number of beats per minute. It can be observed using the stethoscope or using an electrocardiograph. The stethoscope is a device by which the heartbeat can be heard, and the electrocardiograph (abbreviated as EKG) provides a graphical representation of the frequency of the beat. The number of beats an adult’s heart must have per minute is between sixty to one hundred at rest, but it increases during physical effort.
A third indicator of heart function is heart rate. The heart must beat at a steady pace and there must be regular breaks between contractions. The myocardium has an electrical system that tells when it needs to contract and pump blood into the body. Sometimes, this electrical system does not work properly and causes an irregular heart rhythm.
The defibrillator is a medical device that helps to stabilize the heart rate by administering electrical impulses. There are several types of defibrillators, of which we remember the implantable ones and the external ones, for first aid.
The implanted defibrillator is designed to monitor the heart rate and, when necessary, to emit electrical impulses, to stabilize the heartbeat. In the case of tachycardia i.e. when the heart beats too fast, the defibrillator emits small electrical impulses to the heart muscle to restore the normal rhythm.
The defibrillation function is used when the heart beats extremely fast. In this case, the device administers a strong impulse, to slow the frequency of beats.
The stimulation function is used in case of bradycardia, i.e. when the heart rate is too slow.
The semi-automatic external defibrillator has the same functions as the implantable one but is used as a first aid resuscitation measure. For this reason, mobile defibrillators are present in all ambulance cars. Defibrillation is the only way to resuscitate a patient in cardiac arrest when the ambulance arrives. Like the implantable defibrillator, the mobile defibrillator analyzes the patient’s heart rate and automatically administers the necessary electrical impulses, both to normalize the rhythm and to regulate the heart rate.
Did you know that the artificial heart was invented? It resembles the natural heart as shape and mode of operation are concerned. However, for now it is only in the testing phase, but it is a new hope for patients who need heart transplants and who do not find donors.
Bibliography
- https://raportuldegarda.ro/articol/inima-artificiala-din-silicon-functioneaza-30-de-minute/
- https://proceduri.romedic.ro/defibrilarea
- https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defibrilator_extern_automat
- http://www.sfatulmedicului.ro/Boli-ale-inimii-si-vaselor/pulsul-si-bataile-anormale-ale-inimii_17626
- https://bioclinica.ro/pentru-pacienti/hematologie-1/sangele-compozitie-rol-analize-medicale-de-laborator
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