Importance

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Abstract

A defibrillator with an alarm driven by both a heart rate detector and a fibrillation/tachycardia advisory algorithm. The defibrillator is a semiautomatic. By driving the alarm from both sources, the operator is provided with more information; instead of simply being advised of the onset of fibrillation or shockable tachycardia, the operator of a semiautomatic defibrillator is now also advised of the onset of asystole, bradycardia, and nonshockable tachycardia (e.g., superventricular tachycardia). The advisory algorithm can often provide a more timely indication of the onset of an abnormal rhythm than can the conventional heart rate detector, which relies on averaging over multiple heart beats, and thus is slow to detect a change in waveform. And, the advisory algorithm will sometimes detect an abnormal ECG that would have gone undetected by a conventional heart rate alarm. The defibrillator can be combined with an external pacemaker, so that both defibrillation and pacing are available to respond to the conditions detected by the improved alarm. For example, if asystole or bradycardia is detected, the unit can provide pacing stimuli rather than defibrillation stimuli.

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First Claim