Defibrillators (AED) & Resuscitation

Using a rechargeable AED battery is most often found in locations where the defibrillator is in high usage, charging the batteries is more practical and efficient than replacing the batteries regularly. 

The non-rechargeable batteries are replaced as often as monthly if the AED is used daily. 

Nearly all AED devices have non-rechargeable batteries, AEDs that offer a rechargeable battery option are more expensive to purchase because they have special chargers.

Resuscitation with a defibrillator goes hand in hand with giving CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation). It also involves two people.

To use a defibrillator, the first check is to confirm if the collapsed person can be woken up by shaking or talking to the person. 

Once the person doesn’t wake up, your other helper can pick up the defibrillator and then follow the following instructions 

• Place the patient on their back and check if their breathing is normal

• Once you confirm it’s abnormal, ensure the patient’s airflow is open and the check of the chest is rising. Access the air stream from the mouth and nose 

• After doing this, if the person still doesn’t breathe normally, start chest compressions and do this 30 times. To do this place one hand on the centre of the chest and the other hand on the top of the first one

• When you do all this and the patient doesn’t respond, begin to give mouth-to-mouth ventilation. 

• You can do this by pinching the nostrils of the patient with your thumb and index finger. Then put your lips tightly around the patient's mouth and blow air into the lungs 2 times. 

• Check whether your blows make his chest rise, if they don’t continue the CPR by alternating 30 compressions and 2 ventilations.

• Once this doesn’t make a difference use the defibrillator while continuing the CPR and ensure you keep doing it until the person shows signs of recovery or professional help arrives.

Yes, it can be used.

If the person goes into sudden cardiac arrest, the chances of them surviving without the help of a defibrillator drop by 10-15% every minute, and they could die without the help of an AED.

An AED delivers 2000-3000-volt charge in less than 0.001 of a second.

It uses a moderately high voltage to operate.

A monophasic defibrillator can only deliver electrical shocks in a single direction from one electrode to another. With a biphasic one, the current travels in two phases.

Using a biphasic defibrillator offers better efficacy at lower energies than the monophasic waveform defibrillators, and it comes with less risk of post-shock complications.

You can not reuse your defibrillator defibrillation pads, if you’ve used them once, they will need to be replaced with a new set.

Defibrillators are used to help a patient survive cardiac arrest, the patient can continue to receive CPR while the defibrillator is being prepared. 

If you’re not using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), ensure no one is touching the patient and then put the defibrillator paddles on the chest of the patient. 

One paddle is positioned below the right shoulder and the other below the patient's left nipple. The paddles have conducting materials to prevent burns. Although the medical personnel will need to put the conducting material on the chest before using the paddles. 

What the defibrillator does is to make the heart muscle stops moving briefly so the heart can create an electric impulse to start a normal heart movement, this simply means the heart is restarted. 

Using an AED will make the defibrillator automatically review your heart’s rhythm and decide if it needs a shock. It can also charge itself and give verbal instructions on the usage.

Fully automatic AEDs will automate the entire resuscitation process and deliver the shock to the patient automatically. 

Semi-automatic AEDs will involve the user in the process, like pressing a button to deliver the shock to the patient. 

Manual defibrillators require human power from start to finish to be able to work

Most AEDs can last anywhere from 10-15 years, depending on how often they are used, and how and where they are stored.