Does a defibrillator hurt?

A defibrillator is a medical device that has been developed over many years to help patients who are suffering a sudden cardiac arrest. A cardiac arrest occurs when there is an electrical problem with the heart which causes it to either stop beating, beat too fast or, too slow. This results in the individual being unconscious straight away and chances of survival are unfortunately slim if a defibrillator is not used as soon as possible.

There are a number of market-leading brands that have developed defibrillators for a range of environments. This means that you can get both adult and paediatric defibrillators as well as automatic and semi-automatic. You can find defibrillators located in local towns and villages (known as PADs – public access defibrillators), sports facilities, supermarkets, offices and factories across the country.

Once someone suffers a sudden cardiac arrest, you must call the emergency services straight away, get your nearest defibrillator and begin CPR. Defibrillators have been designed to be extremely straight forward to use. This means that you don’t need to worry about using one even if you don’t have any knowledge or past experience.
With real time feedback and audio and visual prompts, a defibrillator will guide you through the process when someone has fallen ill. Part of this process involves placing the electrode pads on the patient’s chest so that it can scan the hearts rhythm. Once it has begun scanning the heart, it will determine whether a shock is needed or not.

A defibrillator will never deliver a shock unless necessary and will always alert you when it is about to do so. If you have a semi-automatic defibrillator, it will prompt you to press a button which will then deliver the shock but, if you have an automatic defibrillator, it will provide the shock itself without any intervention from yourself.

When delivering a shock the aim is to stop the heart in order for it to begin beating on it’s own again at it’s natural pace. This means that a defibrillator can send anything between 200 and 1,000 volts to the heart to achieve this. As someone who is suffering a sudden cardiac arrest is unconscious, they will not be able to feel anything and will likely not remember the event.

A defibrillator is someone’s best chance at survival if they are suffering a cardiac arrest. As they can happen to anyone at any time, it is important that as many people as possible know what to do in an emergency.

With a wide range of defibrillators on the market, there is ample choice for you to select the most suitable option for your environment whether you are in a school or office, factory or sports facility, there is a defibrillator that will work for you.

At Risk Assessment Products we supply a range of the best defibrillators that are available, take a look at our website or feel free to get in touch if you’d like assistance when selecting your defibrillator.