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Home defibrillators,at work defibrillators and hospital defibrillators have basically the same technology. The home defibrillators don’t have fancy monitors showing heart rhythms and producing ECG tracings that the hospital ones do. Doctors at a cardiac arrest are able to interpret the readings and give medication to counteract the arrhythmias and aid in the defibrillation process.
Home defibrillators are used to shock the arrhythmias into normal heart rhythm. It is not necessary for lay responders to figure out cause and effect. No heartbeat? Defibrillate! However you don’t even have to decide that on your own. The home defibrillator will do that for you. If a shock is needed the defibrillator will tell you!
The home defibrillator units are also smaller,portable, and more intelligent since they assess the patient for you. The in-hospital defibrillators are portable but built larger and heavier. They are manually programmed and do not give a verbal assessment. The doctor decides on the defibrillation.
Hospital defibrillators can spit out ECG tracings giving them a record of the event. The energy of the shock can also be increased if the first shock is thought to be too low. Home defibrillators are preset for you. That’s high tech for you!
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What do you need to know about a portable home defibrillator?
1.What is a defibrillator?
This is a portable medical device which gives a mild electrical shock to the heart when someone experiences a cardiac arrest. It restarts the heart back into normal sinus rhythm.
2.Do you need one? 
Do you live with a spouse or family member with a family history of heart disease, Stroke, or hypertension?Do you have any of those conditions in your own family history? If you answer yes then you should consider getting one.
3.How common is a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA)?SCA results in over 350,000 deaths yearly.
4. Do I need a prescription to buy a defibrillator?
Yes. The Philips Heartstart model is the only defibrillator approved by the Federal Drug Administration to be sold over the counter without a prescription.
5.How much does a defibrillator cost? 
It costs between $1000 to $3000 for a defibrillator. Added expenditures are accessories;extra battery,pads,or case.
6.What should I look for in a defibrillator?
The defibrillators do the same functions but may have different features. They have different sizes. weights,colors,designs, and service support. You need to evaluate the service,features and time before a shock can be initiated.
7.What features are more important?
A model with voice instruction telling you what to do step-by-step,text, or video is definitely a plus.Some models automatically deliver the shock for you when it senses an irregular rhythm. It is also important to know that biphasic machines use less power than monophasic machines and are less damaging to the heart.
8. What are some of the manufacturers of defibrillators?
Defibtech,Philips,Zoll,Medtronic,Lifpak,Samaritan,and Lifquest are a few of the most impressive ones.
Christmas 2009 is passed and Our New Year of 2010 is just around the corner. Life is going by too quickly for some of us and its time to sit down and do some deep thinking.
Resolution time is coming!
Don’t make unattainable resolutions, make a few that will impact yourself. Do you want to be healthy? Live long? Play with your children? Make happy memories? Of course you do! Think of all the obese people riding on handicap riders in the stores. Some even carry oxygen tanks. Don’t let yourself go. You get one body put it in shape. Use those muscles to get more energy…work them…start slowly. Eat right, cut down on those sweets, don’t deny yourself a treat but don’t eat the whole bag of candy either. Too many carbs? Modify your diet..you can do it!
Check your family medical history….Diabetes? Watch those sweets! Heart trouble? Need a home defibrillator? Philips defibrillator,Zoll defibrillator,or Defibtech defibrillator are three of the best!
Happy New Year!!!!
American Heart Association-Philips Resuscitation Fellowship Award
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
posted by pat 11:11 AM
In 2008 Royal Philips Electronics named Dr. Ohad Ziv, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiologist at Rhode Island Hospital as the recipient of the American Heart Association-Philips Resuscitation Fellowship Award.
Funded by a grant fron Philips Healthcare, young investigators are encouraged to advance the resuscitation field through basic and clinical research. Dr. Ziv was chosen by the AHA for his research proposal as it applies to resuscitation.The award is a $100,000 grant over a 2 year period. Dr Ziv will pursue research on genetics and underlying heart disease. The mechanics and characteristics of ventricular tachycardia will also be part of his study.
Philips Healthcare makes acute and home health care equipment,such as Philips AEDs, lighting solutions, and lifestyle products for personal well-being.
What do we get our loved ones for Christmas? Every year we have a hard time thinknig of some special gift for our spouse or parents. Parents always say “I don’t need anything”, or “I have everything I need, don’t waste your money on me.” Sound familiar? I know, I’ve been there with my loved ones and now I am one who is repeating these statements to my children. I really don’t need anything, but a home defibrillator is what I don’t have and it is something very important at my age and a truly loving gift from the heart for the heart.
You will say it’s too expensive and you are right, it is expensive, however if you needed one and didn’t have one in time of need, what would your funeral cost?
Grief, pain and suffering of your loved ones for you can not be measured in dollars and cents. You are priceless to your family. Children if you can afford it give the gift that keeps on living.
Should you get a Philips HeartStart Onsite for your home?
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
posted by Deb 11:11 AM
If you have experienced a sudden cardiac arrest, a heart attack, or you have life-threatening arrhythmia, you might want to talk with your doctor about having an automated external defibrillator in your home. A Philips HeartStart Onsite AED might just save your life. The Philips HeartStart Onsite AED was designed for home use and is the cardiac defibrillator not requiring a prescription.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest is when a victim has experienced loss of heart function. An electrical disturbance in your heart has caused the blood to stop flowing efficiently through the victim’s heart at to the rest of his body. He has collapsed, has no pulse, is not breathing and has lost consciousness. If untreated, he will DIE!
Victim’s who have life-threatening arrhythmia often have pre-conditions like coronary artery disease, enlarged heart, valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease, or electrophysiological abnormalities.
Coronary artery disease is caused by arteries becoming clogged with cholesterol and other deposits, reducing blood flow to the heart. This can alter the ability of the heart to conduct electrical implulses smoothly. More thean 80% of all victims who experience SCA have coronary artery disease.
Cardiomyopathy or enlarged heart occurs primarily when the heart’s muscular walls stretch and enlarge or thicken which lead to an abnormal heart’s muscle. When the heart tissue has been damaged, arrhythmia can occur.
Valvular heart disease is the leaking or narrowing of the heart’s values. This can lead to the stretching or thickening of your heart muscle or both. When the chambers become enlarged or weakened because of stress caused by a tight or leaking value, there is a potential for arrhythmia to occur.
Congenital heart disease is a genetic heart condition, present at birth, which sometimes causes SCA in young athletes. Triggered by vigorous exertion, this condition often occurs unexpectedly.
Electrophysiological abnormalities are problem’s with the heart’s electrical system rather than the heart muscle or it’s valves. These primary heart rhythm normalities include QT syndrome, Parkinson syndrome, and Brugada syndrome.
If coronary heart disease runs in your family, you smoke, have high blood pressure, have high blood cholesterol, are obese, have diabetes, or a sedintary lifestyle, you may be at risk for sudden cardiac arrest.
So should you get a Philips HeartStart Onsite for your home? You decide!
What is the difference betweeen aerobic and aenerobic exercise? Aerobic exercise involves oxygen in breaking down glycogen to glucose to produce energy.These exercises are moderately paced for lengthy periods of time.
Anaerobic exercise has a short intense period of exercise with a rest before the next burst of effort. Oxygen is not a requirement in this process. Glycogen is used up without oxygen and is a less efficient process. However, anaerobic exercise can turn into aerobic exercise if done long enough.
Types of aerobic exercise is running,tennis, jazzercise, yoga, tae bo, and rowing. Anaerobic exercise includes sprinting, calisthenic exercises, swimming meets,and resistance training.
The benefits of exercise will increase your muscles (heart and lungs),increase circulation, lower bloood pressure, and decrease your risk for heart attacks and portable defibrillator activity.
Portable home defibrillators are safety nets for patients with fragile heart conditions.They can make the difference in a 20% chance of survival and a 65% chance of survival.Having the means at hand for a quick chain of survival initiation and waiting for a 911 call to be answered, and arrival of the EMS team can be vital.
Portable home defibrillators are easy to use and DO make a
BIG difference in your life.
The Philips Heartstart Trainer teaches students to use the defibrillator correctly and save victims from cardiac arrest. The device runs scenarios for simulated heart attacks. Instructions are clear and concise, giving confidence to the student , preparing them for a real event. The Trainer is clearly different from the actual defibrillator so errors in use are avoided.
The infant/child key is used to convert the defibrillator from adult use ( with a stronger charge) to an infant or child use (a lesser charge). CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) instructions are also given. The trainer uses four AA batteries.
Defibrillators are sturdy without special coverings but those coverings give added long life to your device.For instance, Cabinets protect them from theft,moisture,humidity, and curiosity.Some of the cabinets have alarms that go off if the door is opened.The alarm signals help for you and the victim. Alarms can be disconnected if you don’t wish to frighten others. Moisture and humidity effect wires and batteries and can cause malfunctioning when time is essential. Therefore temperature is of extreme importance.It also keeps the curious away from playing with the defibrillator to hear the commands and try the buttons.
Hard vinyl cases prevent the portable home defibrillator from being dropped or banging against something during an emergency. The cases have a thick foam insulation inside to cushion the defibrillator. Other cases are temperature controlled so the portable defibrillator can be stored in the trunk of a vehicle during extreme -20 degree cold and 140 degrees heat.