An alternative name for defibrillation.
Cardioversion, or DEFIBRILLATION, is indicated in patients with ventricular ?brillation or tachycardia, fast or irregular heartbeat, if other treatments have failed. A general anaesthetic is given if the patient is conscious, following which a carefully timed direct-current shock is applied to the patient’s chest wall using a DEFIBRILLATOR. The patient’s ECG rhythm should then be monitored and anticoagulants considered, as the risk of EMBOLISM is increased.
(countershock) n. restoration of normal heart rhythm in patients with tachyarrhythmia (see arrhythmia). Electrical (synchronized) cardioversion involves the application of a controlled shock, synchronized with the R wave of the *electrocardiogram, through electrodes placed on the chest wall of the anaesthetized patient. The apparatus is called a cardiovertor and is a modified *defibrillator. It is synchronized (usually by pressing a specific button on the control panel) because inadvertent delivery of the shock at the peak of the T wave can trigger ventricular fibrillation. Pharmacological cardioversion is achieved through oral, or more commonly intravenous, drug administration.
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