In the wake of rising incidences of sudden death arising from heart attacks and cardiac arrests in the country, Nigerians have been urged to take advantage of automated external defibrillators to check the trend.
About 50 percent of the Nigerian population is believed to be at risk of heart-related diseases, according to the Nigerian Dental Association, NDA.
An automated external defibrillator, it was gathered, is presently one of the fastest means of resuscitation for a patient who might have suffered cardiac arrest.
The device is capable of delivering a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the heart and can be used effectively with little or no training at all.
Telefunken recently manufactured special cardioverter defibrillators – small devices placed in the chest or abdomen. In a presentation, Chief Executive Officer, Healthpro, Shade Odebiyi, said doctors use the device to help treat irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias.
“The device uses electrical pulses or shocks to help control life-threatening arrhythmias, especially those that can cause sudden cardiac arrest, a condition in which the heart suddenly stops beating. Blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs causing death if not treated within minutes,” she stated.
Experts say the heart has its own internal electrical system that controls the rate and rhythm of heartbeat. A problem with any part of the heart’s electrical system can cause an arrhythmia and while most arrhythmias are harmless, some can be serious. “Defibrillators use electrical pulses or shocks to treat life-threatening arrhythmias that occur in the ventricles (the heart’s lower chambers). When ventricular arrhythmias occur, the heart can’t pump blood well.
“To prevent death, the arrhythmia must be treated right away with an electric shock to the heart. This treatment is called defibrillation.”
A defibrillator has electrodes on the ends that connect to the heart chambers. It monitors the heart rhythm and if it detects an irregular rhythm in the ventricles, uses low-energy electrical pulses to restore a normal rhythm.
“If the low-energy pulses don’t restore your normal heart rhythm, the defibrillator will switch to high-energy pulses for defibrillation.
The device also will switch to high-energy pulses if your ventricles start to quiver rather than contract strongly.”
No comments:
Post a Comment