About Defibrillation

Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation, and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. Defibrillation consists of delivering a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the affected heart with a device called a defibrillator. This depolarizes a critical mass of the heart muscle, terminates the arrhythmia, and allows normal sinus rhythm to be reestablished by the body's natural pacemaker, in the sinoatrial node of the heart.

Defibrillators can be external, transvenous, or implanted, depending on the type of device used or needed. Some external units, known as automated external defibrillators (AEDs), automate the diagnosis of treatable rhythms, meaning that lay responders or bystanders are able to use them successfully with little or, in some cases, no training at all.

Time is the critical factor

Several studies document the effects of time to defibrillation and the effects of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on survival from SCA. For every minute that passes between collapse and defibrillation, survival rates from witnessed VF sudden cardiac arrest decrease 7 to 10 percent if no CPR is provided.

VF rarely converts spontaneously. Kaitlin (above, right) was saved at school and Eric (below, right) was saved at an athletic club by an automated external defibrillator.



Luckily, a shock from an AED is so easy to administer that most adults can do it. In a University of Pennsylvania simulated rescue, the Powerheart AED G3 Plus Automatic helped untrained adults deliver CPR of a quality similar to that of trained professionals¹.

The Powerheart AED G3 Plus

Cardiac Science designed the Powerheart AED G3 Plus with RescueCoach™ voice prompts to talk rescuers through the steps.

• When the rescuer applies the defibrillation pads, the G3 Plus Automatic analyzes the heart rhythm and "knows" when to deliver (or not deliver) the shock.
• The shock is delivered automatically, with no button to push, and no human intervention. (We also make a semi-automatic version.)
• After the shock, the unit prompts for CPR with a built-in metronome that sets the pace for proper chest compressions.

Patented Rescue Ready® technology distinguishes Cardiac Science among competitors.

• Every day, to ensure anytime functionality, the Powerheart AED self checks all main components (battery, hardware, software, and defibrillation pads).
• Every week, the AED completes a partial charge of the high-voltage electronics.
• Every month, the AED charges the high-voltage electronics to full energy.

If anything is amiss, the Rescue Ready status indicator on the AED handle changes from green to red and the device emits an audible alert to prompt the user to service the unit. In sum, a Powerheart AED is Rescue Ready when a life depends on it.

The PSA partnership with Cardiac Science
Why Do I Need AEDs?

Product Information
Real-Life Stories

1 (Circulation. 2007;116:II_437.) © 2007 American Heart Association, Inc. Untrained Volunteers Perform High Quality CPR When using an Automatic External Defibrillator with a CPR Voice Prompting Algorithm; Benjamin S Abella; Salem Kim; Alexandra Colombus; Cheryl L Shea; Lance B Becker.  

 

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     Kaitlyn was saved at school.

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     Dan was saved at work.

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     Eric's life was saved by an AED