Why do AEDs not Always Work on Houston, TX Hospital Patients?
Houston medical device lawyers stress that AEDs (automated external defibrillators), like other defibrillators, are only effective in treating certain types of cardiac arrest and irregular heart rhythm conditions. AEDs use computer technology to analyze the heart rhythm of a patient. AEDs then administer a shock if one is required to reset the heart’s electrical signals to produce a correct heart beat rhythm.
AEDs only serve to correct (or reset) the existing electrical heart beat rhythm of a Houston, TX hospital patient. Our Houston medical device lawyers emphasize that an AED is useless where no electrical heart rhythm remains. Where a Houston, TX hospital patient has “flat-lined,” and the heart has stopped completely, an AED can do nothing.
The AED medical devices administer high joule electrical shocks to correct ventricular fibrillation (VF) rhythms and ventricular tachycardia (VT) rhythms. AED units are designed for use by laypeople with little or no training in medical care. But trained health professionals can more effectively diagnose and treat larger ranges of heart problems using manual or semi-automated defibrillation machines.
Houston medical device lawyers note that AED units require more time to diagnose the heart’s existing rhythm than a trained professional using a manual defibrillator. And in cardiac arrest situations, time is of the essence. The longer the period between the onset of the cardiac arrest and the resetting of the heart into a normal rhythmic beating pattern, the greater is the chance that cardiac intervention will fail.
The time intervals required for an AED to perform its automated heart rhythm analysis also require that CPR chest compressions cease. In Houston, TX hopsital patients, who may be severely weakened and debilitated by illness, chronic conditions, or injuries, simple electrical shock often is not enough to restart a faltering heart rhythm. Manual compression of the chest to force oxygenation of the heart might be crucial.
Indeed, studies have shown that these time intervals necessary to AED use, during which CPR chest compressions stop, have significant negative consequences on defibrillator electric shock treatments. Houston medical device lawyers point out that various organizations and individuals are questioning the use of AEDs in hospitals. Some studies indicate that more than 10,000 people might have died in hospitals over the last decade because AEDs were used where a manual defibrillator should have been used instead.
New American Heart Association guidelines have responded to this data by recommending two full minutes of CPR chest compressions with no AED heart rhythm anaylsis intervals after administering a shock. Some authorities recommend that AEDs not be utilized where trained professionals and manual defibrillators could be used instead.