Needing information on a defibrillator that is installed above the heart. What are the reasons why it is done.
148758
One heart condition that can cause a quick death is fibrillation.  This is when a part of the heart is beating so fast that it fails to perform its main job, pumping blood.\n\nWhen the heart beats too fast, it becomes ineffective.\n\nA defibrillator, provides and electrical shock to the heart to cause the rhythm to restore to a normal speed.  This enables the heart to pump regularly.\n\nOther than size, the main difference between an external and internal (sugically implanted into the body) is that the internal version has a sensor unit built in to detect when the heart is malfuntioning, and to administer a shock.\n\nThe external defibrillator is the unit you see on doctor's shows with the two paddles placed onto 2 locations on a persona's chest.  Then they shout "Clear!".
273451
There was a segment on Good Morning America last week. Dr. Tim Johnson (a candidate for the procedure himself) discussed it. A laser catheter is inserted through the thigh (like angioplasty) and the muscles above the atrium are "zapped" to prevent their irregular spasms. My cousin had it done, and it worked for her. I looked on ABC's website but I couldn't find aynthing. Talk to your cardiologist.
732303
The ECG is a very good study but it has many limitations.  It is very reliable at detecting problems that interrupt or change the electrical energy paths through your heart.  The heart has two major systems though - the pumbing and the electricity.  Sometimes one systems affects the other but sometimes not, too.  There are plenty of true heart attacks, for instance, that demonstrate no or very little change on the ECG.  As well there are plenty of benign conditions that change the electricity (from "normal") and turn out to be nothing more than a congenital malformation in the way a person's heart works.  Finally ECG's are a moment in time - they are very poor at predicting what might happen in the future.\n\nIn short, just because you had a normal or abnormal ECG, it may or may not mean anything and it certainly doesn't tell you what might happen tomorrow.  It needs to be assessed in context of other markers or symptoms.
608871
It's a warning to the people around them not to touch the body because if they do when they are shocking the pt then they will get the shock too and it could very possibly stop their heart. It's crazy in real life when you are using a defibrillator. People are running around trying to get stuff for the pt and someone is always at the head providing o2 so if you don't say it some one will touch him and then you have 2 patients in cardiac arrest. Does that help?
856295
totally stupid, one reason could be saying you have a small heart mumor, all they're hear is heart. it isnt bad at all me and my bro used to have one, it just means your heart goes like half a spilt second faster than a regular heart. ppl usually grow out of them.
513617
By giving management better information on what is going on in the organization.  They may get better information on costs, or use of supplies, or length of stay broken down by disease, injury, ward, age, etc.  Inventory control is another possibility.  As an example:  how many defibrillators do you have?  Where are they located?  Who is trained to use them?  When were they last serviced?  Which one has been used the most, or the least?  Where have they been used?  If you have a location that has a lot of need, why not move the least used one there?  \n\nDepending on the design of the system, it might be able to answer any or all of these questions.
1115590
Your heart has signals that travel to it telling it when to beat.  The things that signal are called nerves, which you probably know, but I am going to explain how I look at it.  The nerves have high  sodium (Na+) on the outside (making it positive).  On the inside of the nerve axon, there are high levels of potassium (K+) (making it negative).  The "inside" and "outside" are seperated by a membrane which has gates and channels that allow the K+ to move out and the Na+ to move in.  When the "charge" changes enough in the axon of the nerve, you get a signal sent "down the line".   If you are low in K+, the signals can't work right because enough K+ doesn't move in/Na+ doesn't move out to cause a signal or signals at the wrong time.  Your heart gets out of sync and things get all messed up, arrhythmias and such.
785323
Defibrillation is a medical technique used to counter the onset of ventricular fibrillation, (VF) a common cause of cardiac arrest, and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, which sometimes precedes ventricular fibrillation but can be just as dangerous on its own. In simple terms, the process uses an electric shock to stop the heart, in the hope that the heart will restart with rhythmic contractions.Uses\nDefibrillation is a technique used in emergency medicine to terminate ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia. It uses an electrical shock to reset the electrical state of the heart so that it may beat to a rhythm controlled by its own natural pacemaker cells. It is not effective for asystole (complete cessation of cardiac activity, more commonly known as "flatline") and pulseless electrical activity (PEA). Ventricular tachycardia with a pulse is treated with medication (if hemodynamically stable), or syncronized cardioversion (if hemodynamically unstable).\n\nThe equipment used in this process is called a defibrillator. The "sync" function must be deactivated, otherwise the machine will be searching for an organized R-wave to synchronize the shock with. Defibrillation is part of advanced cardiac life support (ACLS).\n\nThe purpose of defibrillation of ventricular arrhythmias is to apply a controlled electrical shock to the heart, which leads to depolarization of the entire electrical conduction system of the heart. When the heart repolarizes, the normal electrical conduction may assert itself, in which case the ventricular arrhythmia is terminated. However, if not enough energy is used for defibrillation, the heart may not be completely depolarized, in which case the ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation may not be terminated. Also, if the heart itself is not getting enough oxygen or if there is an instability of the electrolytes in the cardiac cells, the ventricular arrhythmia may recur.\n\nThe shock is generally conducted through the heart by two electrodes, in the form of two hand-held paddles or adhesive patches depending on the variety of the defibrillator. One electrode is placed on the right side of the front of the chest just below the clavicle, and the other electrode is placed on the left side of the chest just below the pectoral muscle or breast. Open-chest defibrillators also exist, which have electrodes in the form of two cup-shaped paddles that surround the sides of the heart and shock it directly. Open-chest defibrillators generally require less energy to operate due to direct contact with the heart.\n\nAlthough the process of defibrillation can be repeated, the number of attempts is, in practice, limited, to a series of three or four attempts at increasing energies, as the likelihood of restoring normal heart rhythm is much less in successive attempts
606824
I am not a med student but I have a st jude pacemaker. Are you having problems with your equip? I have had to have my wires replaced twice and now the new set is fractured, I clotted the first time so my cardiologist says that when he changes them he will have to open my chest and put me on the by-pass machine so that he won't disturb any of the clotted area.....I' m really worried about it.
1106877
Without a clinical history on why an EKG was done and without other related cardiac risk factors,  I find it hard to interpret what an upside down t wave means.  It can be normal then again what does the EKG look it.  Is the upside t wave occurring on multiple leads and which ones.  How does the qrs look like.  What did the doctor say?  I would say this is pretty hard to accurately interpret without the above info.
817302
In the last year between me and my insurance company between 70,000 and 75,000 dollars have been paid out. This covers everything from my first visit to a cardiologist to the last test of the unit at the end of the recovery period from the surgery. I don't have my insurance papers in front of me to give a more exact result. \n\nI've had a lighter amount of attention than many in my general situation have had. I've had:\n- two visits to my heart specialist\n- one sonar probe of the heart (is it called a cardiogram?)\n- one couple day stay at the hospital for the surgery\n- one visit to the pacemaker clinic for the first test of my ICD and an introduction to a machine I now have here at home that can read my ICD and fax my doctors a report.\n- one brief visit to the specialist who installed the ICD\n- one test where they put me under and had my ICD correct artificial induced heart problems. \n\nI have one of the lesser models of the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. It might be a little different than what you are asking about. It is both a defibrillator and a pacemaker designed to deliver a large shock if my heart starts fluttering and pace my heart if it goes too slow. I believe that actual pacemakers are a little different. \n\nMy device is a two wire model. Meaning there is only two wires going to the heart. There are four wire models that are much better, but more costly. Then there are all kinds of other variations in what they are capable of. So costs will vary.
819676
It's probably more annoying than life-threatening.  Sometimes a compressed vertrebral disk or spinal nerve can do this.  You have not described cardiac involvement.  Please don't ask for an online diagnosis and ignore any that you are given.  I suggest you see your health care provider for evaluation.
163737
Try\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_pacemaker
54824
It is called a heart palpatation.. An irregualar beat of the heart... Many things can cause this. Stress levels, lack of sleep, too much caffine or nicotine. A cloged artery, A heart murmer not found yet, being diabetic can mess with your heart if you are not aware of the possibility of being so. Also at some point maybe you are having a minor panic attack.. It is something to truely get checked out because this can be a big problem that can cause an abrupt end to your life... Better to be safe than sorry.
467229
In the human body, the heart is normally situated slightly to the left of the middle of the thorax, underneath the sternum (breastbone). It is enclosed by a sac known as the pericardium and is surrounded by the lungs. The apex is the blunt point at the base of the heart. A stethoscope can be placed directly over the apex and count the beats. In normal adults, its mass is 250-350 g, but extremely diseased hearts can be up to 1000 g in mass. It consists of four chambers, the two upper atria (singular: atrium) and the two lower ventricles.\n\nA septum divides the right atrium and ventricle from the left atrium and ventricle, preventing blood from passing between them. Valves between the atria and ventricles (atrioventricular valves) maintain coordinated unidirectional flow of blood from the atria to the ventricles.The ventricular systole consists of the contraction of the ventricles and flow of blood into the circulatory system. Again, once all the blood empties from the ventricles, the pulmonary and aortic semilunar valves close. Finally complete cardiac diastole involves relaxation of the atria and ventricles in preparation for refilling with circulating blood.\n\nThe function of the right side of the heart (see right heart) is to collect deoxygenated blood from the body and pump it into the lungs so that carbon dioxide can be dropped off and oxygen picked up. This happens through a process called diffusion. The left side (see left heart) collects oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body. On both sides, the lower ventricles are thicker than the upper atria.\n\nOxygen-depleted or deoxygenated blood from the body enters the right atrium through two great veins, the superior vena cava which drains the upper part of the body and the inferior vena cava that drains the lower part. The blood then passes through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle. The right ventricle pumps the deoxygenated blood to the lungs, through the pulmonary artery. In the lungs gaseous exchange takes places and the blood releases carbon dioxide into the lung cavity and picks up oxygen. The oxygenated blood then flows through pulmonary veins to the left atrium. From the left atrium this newly oxygenated blood passes through the mitral valve (also called the bicuspid valve) to enter the left ventricle. The left ventricle then pumps the blood through the aorta to the entire body. Even the lungs take some of the blood supply from the aorta via bronchial arteries.\n\nThe left ventricle is much more muscular (1.3 - 1.5 cm thick) than the right (0.3 - 0.5 cm thick) as it has to pump blood around the entire body, which involves exerting a considerable force to overcome the vascular pressure. As the right ventricle needs to pump blood only to the lungs, it requires less muscle.\n\nEven though the ventricles lie below the atria, the two vessels through which the blood exits the heart (the pulmonary artery and the aorta) leave the heart at its top side.\n\nThe contractile nature of the heart is due to the presence of cardiac muscle in its wall which can work continuously without fatigue. The heart wall is made of three distinct layers. The first is the outer epicardium which is composed of a layer of flattened epithelial cells and connective tissue. Beneath this is a much thicker myocardium made up of cardiac muscle. The endocardium is a further layer of flattened epithelial cells and connective tissue which lines the chambers of the heart.\n\nThe blood supply to the heart itself is supplied by the left and right coronary arteries, which branch off from the aorta.
893140
Because if the shock is between the two hands, the current must travel through the main part of the body and can interfere with the heart.
1003119
look at this 3D pic then read\n\nhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C003758/rotate.htm\n\nIn the human body, the heart is normally situated slightly to the left of the middle of the thorax, underneath the sternum (breastbone). The heart is usually felt to be on the left side because the left heart (the left part of the heart) is stronger (it pumps the blood out). The heart is enclosed by a sac known as the pericardium and is surrounded by the lungs.Betwen the pericardium and the heart there is a serous fluid to reduce friction during heart contractions. The apex is the blunt point at the base of the heart. A stethoscope can be placed directly over the apex and count the beats. In normal adults, its mass is 250-350 g (8-11 oz), but extremely diseased hearts can be up to 1000 g (2 lb) in mass. It consists of four chambers, the two upper atria (singular: atrium ) and the two lower ventricles. On the right is a picture of a fresh human heart which was just removed from a 64 year old British gentleman. The mass for a thin white male is usually 270-300 grams (9-11 ounces) with little fat.\n\nA septum divides the right atrium and ventricle from the left atrium and ventricle, preventing blood from passing between them. Valves between the atria and ventricles (atrioventricular valves) maintain coordinated unidirectional flow of blood from the atria to the ventricles. The ventricular systole consists of the contraction of the ventricles and flow of blood into the circulatory system. Again, once all the blood empties from the ventricles, the pulmonary and aortic semilunar valves close. Finally complete cardiac diastole involves relaxation of the atria and ventricles in preparation for refilling with circulating blood.\n\nThe function of the right side of the heart (see right heart) is to collect deoxygenated blood from the body and pump it into the lungs (pulmonary circulation)so that carbon dioxide can be dropped off and oxygen picked up. This happens through a process called diffusion. The left side (see left heart) collects oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body (systemic circulation). On both sides, the lower ventricles are thicker than the upper atria.\nOxygen-depleted or deoxygenated blood from the body enters the right atrium through two great veins, the superior vena cava which drains the upper part of the body and the inferior vena cava that drains the lower part which drains the portal cyrculation too full with nutrients to nourish the body. The blood then passes through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle. The right ventricle pumps the deoxygenated blood to the lungs, through the pulmonary artery. In the lungs gaseous exchange takes places and the blood releases carbon dioxide into the lung cavity and picks up oxygen which is called external respiration. The oxygenated blood then flows through pulmonary veins to the left atrium. From the left atrium this newly oxygenated blood passes through the mitral valve (also called the bicuspid valve) to enter the left ventricle. The left ventricle then pumps the blood through the aorta to the entire body. Even the lungs take some of the blood supply from the aorta via bronchial arteries.\n\nThe left ventricle is much more muscular, which is 1.3 - 1.5 cm (.5-.6 in) thick, than the right, 0.3 - 0.5 cm ( .1-.2 in) thick, as it has to pump blood around the entire body, which involves exerting a considerable force to overcome the vascular pressure. As the right ventricle needs to pump blood only to the lungs, it requires less muscle.\n\nEven though the ventricles lie below the atria, the two vessels through which the blood exits the heart (the pulmonary artery and the aorta) leave the heart at its top side.\n\nThe contractile nature of the heart is due to the presence of cardiac muscle in its wall which can work continuously without fatigue. The heart wall is made of three distinct layers. The first is the outer epicardium which is composed of a layer of flattened epi