3. Difference between heart attack and cardiac arrest

A heart attack happens when there are issues where the pipes in your body that pump blood to and from the heart get clogged. Victims may report chest pains days or weeks before the attack happens. The heart will still pump but, at abnormal rates; if you notice any signs of crushing chest pain or shortness of breath contact 999 immediately. A sudden cardiac arrest is when the heart stops and the person falls unconscious.

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

4. How Long Do Defibrillators Last?

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

5. How long do defibrillator batteries last?

Nothing lasts forever and with the importance of life-saving devices; you’ll need the right parts to keep them operating smoothly. Defibrillator batteries have a standby life and a maximum number of shocks, this varies between each model. For a full itinerary of the defibrillators we sell. Click here.

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

6. How many times can a defibrillator be used?

You can use a defibrillator for as long as there are replacement parts available. The end of life for a defibrillator comes from when the manufacturer can no longer obtain parts (electrodes/pads, batteries). This is usually many many years after the warranty expires. The lack of replacement parts makes it more difficult to ensure it is still useful in the event of an emergency. If you are unsure, give us a call on 0808 278 2741 Here’s a breakdown of some of our best AED units: [Defibrillator Buyers Guide]

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

7. How many times can a person be defibrillated?

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

8. How often do defibrillators work?

Did you know around 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur every year in the UK? Without any immediate treatment, 90-95% of cardiac arrest victims will die. This is where the importance of defibrillators come into place. Defibrillators can rapidly improve the survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. For victims who received a shock within three minutes of collapse, the survival rate was 74 %. That kind of effectiveness speaks volumes to the importance of owning a defibrillator.

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

9. Can anyone use a defibrillator?

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

10. Do you use a defibrillator when a heart stops?

If someone has gone into sudden cardiac arrest, you should first conduct CPR to stimulate the hearts rhythm before using a defibrillator. Taken from the NHS website, on how to perform CPR: “1. Place the heel of your hand on the breastbone at the centre of the person’s chest. Place your other hand on top of your first hand and interlock your fingers. 2. Position yourself with your shoulders above your hands. 3. Using your body weight (not just your arms), press straight down by 5–6cm on their chest.” 4. Try to perform chest compressions at 100-120 chest compressions a minute.” You would then use the AED, follow the instructions carefully and repeat both CPR and the AED before emergency services arrive. Most modern AEDs come with a CPR rhythm counter built in to guide you through this stage. If the heart can be shocked quickly with an AED, a normal heart rhythm may be restored.

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

11. Does a defibrillator stop a heart?

The shock from an AED will reset the heart in order to get it beating to a normal rhythm again

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

12. Can you defibrillate someone with a pacemaker?

A pacemaker is a small device that is placed in the chest or abdomen to control abnormal heart rhythms. Even with one in, they are still vulnerable to sudden cardiac arrests. For patients with a pacemaker, you will see a scar just over the area on their upper right chest, where you would normally place the electrode pads. It’s not advisable to place the pads on the pacemaker even though, if they are experiencing sudden cardiac arrest it implies the pacemaker isn’t functioning properly. The electrode pads pass current from one pad to another, so if you administer a defib shock to a pacemaker, place it a few inches below the recommended placement. Remember, the current needs to pass-through the heart between the two pads.

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

13. Why are defibrillators so expensive?

You pay for a piece of mind. These aren’t called life-saving devices without being able to live up the name. When you factor in the price you need to think about (not limited to) These aren’t double AA batteries. A lot of expense and design goes into making them long-lasting, low maintenance and protection against all potential complications. The high voltage components needed to power and conduct the intense voltage shocks do not come cheap. Mass production with solid testing and assurance the devices are fully regulated. You’re carrying a device which if it was faulty and unregulated could very well kill you. That’s why the utmost care is taken to make sure nothing goes wrong when using them in the event of an emergency See our complete selection of life-saving devices here at Direct365 supplies

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Are they worth footing the bill, what do they do and so on and so forth… After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

The Complete Guide To Defibrillators

As a provider of essential business supplies, we get asked a lot about defibrillators. Whether they are worth footing the bill for, what do they do and more. To answer your question, here is our complete guide to defibrillators.

After a few brief articles in the past giving snapshot guides on these devices, we give you a complete guide to help in deciding whether they’re right for you.

1. What is a Defibrillator?

A defibrillator (also referred to as defib) is a small electrical device that provides a controlled shock to the heart, in the event of a life-threatening arrhythmia called ventricular fibrillation. The most common type of defibrillator is the AED (an automated external defibrillator).

The AED comes in two forms, either semi-automatic or automatic.

A semi-automatic AED like our defibtech lifeline will detect the rhythm of the heart and tell you when to shock the person in cardiac arrest.

A fully automatic AED like the Schiller Defisign Life is designed to be the first person at the scene of a cardiac arrest. If the patient requires a shock, the defibrillator automatically delivers one without any other user intervention required other than placing the pads on the patient.

Modern AEDs are equipped for varying levels of skill, meaning anyone can use a defibrillator. Fully automatic defibrillators will even deliver the shock when required.

2. Why would someone need a defibrillator?

When a cardiac arrest happens, there is a problem coming from the electrical pulses between the patient’s brain and their heart. This prevents the heart from pumping blood to the rest of the body.

Defibrillators save lives by giving a high energy electric shock to the heart through the chest wall when someone is in cardiac arrest.

The purpose of the electric shock is to restore the normal rhythm to the heart.

There is a big difference between a heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest. A heart attack happens when there are issues whereby the pipes in your body that pump blood to and from the heart get clogged. A cardiac arrest is when the heart stops and the person falls unconscious.

3. How long do defibrillators last?

Defibrillators have replaceable parts.

Rather than the actual models themselves, it’s the batteries and electrode packs that need replacing.

Each defibrillator model comes with a stand-by life while it isn’t in use. This ranges between 2-5 years while the unit isn’t in direct use. This doesn’t mean the defibrillator needs replacing, this only means that replacement parts are required.

This comes in as either electrode pads or the replacement battery. Batteries usually last a maximum of 5 years shelf life. Pads are considerably less, with an average of 2 years shelf life. Pads should be replaced after each use. Batteries have a maximum number of shocks before replacements are needed too. Most appliances will do their own safety check each day and alert you when a battery is low.

For more information on the lifespan of batteries for specific defibrillator models, read our Defibrillator Batteries: Lifespan blog post, here.

Click Here to Call for a Defibrillator Quote

4. How many times can a defibrillator be used?

You can use a defibrillator for as long as you can get replacement parts. The battery, for example, is the biggest variable here. The battery can last between 2-5 years. However, each time the defibrillator is used, it needs replacement pads. These should be bought and stored in advance, so the defibrillator can be used once more straight after an incident. The battery can be used while there is battery life, the charge of the battery will simply reduce.

Some defibrillators auto-check the battery life and will make you aware via the screen whether and when it needs replacing. There are lots of moving parts, and that’s why we created our complete guide to defibrillators.

5. How many times can a person be defibrillated?

In short; a person can be shocked as many times as necessary, however, with each shock that fails to return the heart to a normal rhythm, the chances of survival decreases.

It is, however, important to remember the following factors:

How many shocks can the battery on your AED deliver?
How many batteries do you have for your AED?

Every minute without CPR or defibrillation reduces the victim’s survival chances by between 7% and 10%

One study suggested a minimum of 2-3 shocks are most closely related to long-term survival afterwards.

However, physical and underlying conditions vary in people, defibrillators greatly extends survival chances.

6. What are the survival chances using a defibrillator?

Research suggests that using a defibrillator within the first 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest improves that chances of survival by 50-70%. Furthermore, immediate AED treatment can have a survival rate of 90-95%. Clearly the quicker the patient gets treatment, the better.

Our complete guide to defibrillators gives you the lowdown on many of the questions our customers ask us on a regular basis. However, here are some of our other blogs on defibrillator education:

what are the side effects of defibrillator shocks blog title image

blog title image for what to consider when servicing your defibrillator

Thanks for reading our complete guide to defibrillators. Direct365 stock a wide range of high quality defibrillators, all at highly competitive prices. Click here to shop our range of defibrillators, electrodes, batteries, chargers and accessories.

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