Through electricity or drug therapy, cardioversion converts heart arrhythmias to normal rhythms. The heart and lungs (from an older edition of Grays Anatomy) The heart (Latin cor) is a hollow, muscular organ that pumps blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions. ... A cardiac arrhythmia, also called cardiac dysrhythmia, is a disturbance in the regular rhythm of the heartbeat. ...
Similar to defibrillation, cardioversion differs in that it uses much lower electricity levels. Cardioversion may also be done through medication instead of an electrical shock. Typical view of the defibrillator operator. ...
In the case of electrical shock, the patient lies flatly on the back with an electrical conducting pad placed on the lower back and the upper chest. These pads are connected to an ECG machine which is also capable of delivering current. When the patient is sedated, the doctor delivers a shock and checks the ECG for sinus rhythm. The shocks can be performed until sinus rhythm is attained or when further electrical shocks could cause burning of the epidermis. The patient is monitored for half an hour to ensure stability of the sinus rhythm. The risks are minimal and the patient feels very little during the procedure. ECG may also refer to the East Coast Greenway Lead II An Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG, abbreviated from the German Elektrokardiogramm) is a graphic produced by an electrocardiograph, which records the electrical voltage in the heart in the form of a continuous strip graph. ... Epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin. ... Sinus rhythm is indicative of normal electrical conductance of the heart. ...
Electrical cardioversion is used to treat heart problems such as atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. In the case of ventricular arrhythmias (such as ventricular fibrillation), a defibrillator is used, and the pace of the procedure is much faster due to the life-threatening circumstances. Atrial fibrillation (AF or AFib) is a cardiac arrhythmia (an abnormality of heart rate or rhythm) originating in the atria. ... Atrial flutter is a rhythmic, fast rhythm that occurs in the atria of the heart. ... Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib) is a cardiac condition which consists of a lack of coordination of the contraction of the muscle tissue of the large chambers of the heart. ...
Cardioversion is delivering an electrical shock to a person's heart to rapidly restore an abnormal heart rhythm back to normal.
Other times, an external cardioversion is scheduled ahead of time to treat an arrhythmia (most often atrial fibrillation) that is recent or has not responded well to medication.
For a scheduled cardioversion, the person is usually sedated beforehand and his or her breathing is assisted.
In the group of patients where transthoracic cardioversion at a voltage of 7 kV proved ineffective, the sinus rhythm was restored in 76.5% of cases with atrial fibrillation and 84.2% of cases with irregular atrial flutter when one of the electrodes was introduced into the esophagus.
Cardioversion of atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm is associated with a small but significant risk of thromboembolic events (average incidence, 1.5%; range, 0% to 7%).
Cardioversion was deferred in six of eight patients with thrombus, and anticoagulation therapy was initiated.
Feeds |
Contact