A defibrillator is a machine used to shock the heart back into a regular pattern when the heart goes into ventricular defibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. Both of these conditions can threaten a person's life and cause a person to pass out when the heart stops beating and pumping blood to the body. This is when cardiac arrest happens and a defibrillator can save a persons life.

There are automatic defibrillators that can be used in cases of emergency where a professional medical person is not around. You do have to have some training to use one of these, mostly because there is some risk to the person that's using it and others that may be near him/her. This comes in the form of getting a nasty shock by touching the person's body while they are using the defibrillator. There is also danger to the patient if this is used without the proper training in the form of blood clots, burns to the patients skin, and an abnormal heart beat. If a patient still has a pulse, a defibrillator should never be used so as you can see there is an extensive amount of knowledge that has to go along with this life saving device.

Ventricular defibrillation occurs when the electrical activity of the heart goes wrong and this can be very serious indeed. The lower chamber of the heart contracts rapidly. As a result, the ventricles do not beat but only flutter causing very little blood to pump through the heart. If a defibrillator is not used the patient will die and this can happen within minutes and sometimes seconds of the attack. If you are around when this happens to someone and there is no medical help available, call for help immediately.

When a heart attack happens, if there is action taken immediately, there is a very good chance of that person surviving, but the only way this can happen is if the patient has access to a defibrillator. Heart attacks are the leading cause of death and two out of three times a person will die if they can't get help with a defibrillator. This will tell you just how important this device is.

If you are near someone that is having an episode of cardiac arrest, then there are some steps you can take to try and help this person if there is no professional help nearby. Position the head of the patient so that it is in line with the rest of the body. This helps the person that is in distress breathe better. Try to locate a pulse by placing your fingers on the carotid artery in the neck. Start the procedure of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions. This has to be continued until you can get medical help.

When the paramedics arrive they will use a defibrillator to get the patient's heart started again by delivering some quick electric shocks to the heart with a defibrillator machine. In the meantime by doing life giving mouth to mouth you may give this patient another chance at life by taking these life saving measures.