Difference b/t Cardioversion and Defibrillator

Nursing Students Student Assist

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They both seem like they do the same thing - try to get the patient back into NSR. Are there any differences? If so, what are they? I've been searching online, found some stuff but still don't seem to get it! Hope someone can clarify for me.

Specializes in Critical Care.

Cardioversion includes both electric and pharmaceutical cardioversion. Synchronized electrical cardioversion is used for both supraventricular arrhythmias as well as VT with pulses, although many cardiologists will still use only synchronized cardioversion even with pulseless VT. Unsynchronized cardioversion (defibrillation) is used for V-fib (and pulseless VT per ACLS). ICD's perform both cardioversion and defibrillation.

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Thanks guys! Now it all makes sense. I'm a nursing student. My patient today was in SVT and had a pulse. The nurses and doctor cardioverted him with a single shock and went back into NSR.

So let me get this straight....

Cardioversion are for people with tachy rhythms WITH pulses to try to get them into NSR. and Defib is for patients who are pulse-less with a lethal rhythm?

The other big difference is the syncing.

So with cardioversion, they will give a shock that coincides with what the R wave (think of the EKG PQRST). So, the machine will monitor the heart rate and sync up with it, so it can deliver during an R wave.

With defib....there's no pulse/R wave to sync with (rhythms such as v-fib are pulse-less)...so obviously there's no syncing involved.

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Before we jump all over another member and rough them up too much, we need to recognise that there could be some differences in language. The person in question is correct that both are basically the same in that a shock is administered. However, how the shock is given and how much of a shock given are quite different.

Anyway, I don't want to be too hard on somebody if we are just having some simple language barrier issues.

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:eek:

Eeks!! So wrong. And what the heck is manual delivery VS mechanical delivery??? Talk about completely misinformed!!

Op: we don't defib people to get them into NSR, we defib to get them OUT of VT/VF. We will take any rhythm that we get (except asystole), even CHB over VT/VF because those rhythms are lethal. Now, if we get a NSR after defib, then great! But that's not the goal. The goal is to prevent death...

Sorry, didn't mean to misinform anyone. In terms of "basically the same", both produce a shock that briefly stops all electrical activity of the heart and then allows the normal heart rhythm to return.

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