![]() ![]() The defibrillator is completely under your skin.Ī defibrillator watches over your heart all the time, and its purpose is to deliver a life-saving shock if you develop a heartbeat that is so fast it prevents the heart from pumping blood properly. It is placed under the skin below the collarbone (just like a pacemaker), and one, two or three wires connected to this are passed into your heart. In general, a defibrillator is recommended only if you have a very weak heart or if you have had a dangerously fast heartbeat. However, the defibrillator generates the shock from the inside your heart. ![]() A defibrillator is able to deliver a shock similar to an external shock delivered through use of paddles like you probably have seen in movies or television shows. It is slightly larger than a pacemaker and is just a bit smaller and thinner than a coffee cup lid. One wire goes to the upper chamber, and the other one or two are placed into the bottom chambers.Ī defibrillator, on the other hand, is a fancy pacemaker that can give you an electrical shock if needed to save your life. One, two or three wires connect to this and are placed into the vein under the collarbone that travels down to your heart. About the size of three half dollars stacked on top of each other, the “geneator” is both a computer and a battery in a single unit. So what is the difference between the pacemaker and the defibrillator?Ī pacemaker keeps the heart from beating too slowly. And they are placed by electrophysiologists – cardiologists who have advanced training in treating heart rhythm disorders. Both are implantable devices that are placed under the skin just below the collarbone, and both are designed to regulate a patient’s heartbeat.īoth are used to treat irregular heart rhythms. And chances are, you also know someone who has a defibrillator. You most likely know someone who has a pacemaker to help regulate his or her heartbeat. ![]()
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