Defibrillator
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In financial year 2023/24, the Parish Council acquisitioned a Physio-Control CR2usb fully automatic defibrillator and polycarbonate defibrillator cabinet with heater and lock. Thanks expressed to Bramerton Helping Hand for their generous donation of £1,000.00 towards the cost of this acquisition. The defibrillator is logged with the East of England Ambulance Service.
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Location
The defibrillator is located on the outside of Bramerton Christadelphians Meeting Room, The Street, Bramerton, Norwich, NR14 7DN.
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What does a defibrillator actually 'do'?
The heart is divided into four parts - the upper and lower, and the right and left sides. The upper part of the heart (atria) pumps blood to the lower part of the heart (ventricle) and then the blood is pumped from here to the rest of the body.
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To work, a small 'wave' of electricity passes through the heart, starting at the top right, making the heart cells contract. The heart then contracts and squeezes the blood in the middle of the heart, out and around the body. For the heart to work again, the spring needs to be recoiled. This happens through a process called 're-polarisation' where another small 'wave' of electricity goes through the heart to reset the heart cells to get them ready to work again. When the heart goes into 'fibrillation' is has lost its smooth operation and the heart is practically no longer pumping. Without intervention, this will lead to death.
The heart degrades by 20% per minute in adult humans, once blood flow has stopped, and so time is key. It was discovered that by applying a very short but powerful electrical charge to the heart, it is possible to reset the heart cells, so they are 'recoiled' and ready to start pumping again.
Defibrillators in the community only work in two situations. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) (quivering heart) and also ventricular tachycardia (VT) (very fast heartbeat).
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VF is where the lower part of the heart is out of sequence, and as a result nothing is pumped out and around the body.
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VT is where the lower part of the heart beats so fast it does not have time to refill, and so almost nothing is pumped out. It also puts a considerable strain on the heart as it is overworking for no result.
In both cases, the defibrillator may give a shock to help rectify them. The defibrillator will not work unless it detects either of these symptoms, so it is very safe to use. You cannot do anything wrong by using a defibrillator.
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Learn CPR in 15 minutes for free (British Heart Foundation)
Many of us will witness a cardiac arrest in our lifetime. Be ready for that day with RevivR, our fast, free and easy-to-use online training course; https://revivr.bhf.org.uk/
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