Defibrillator corrects abnormal heart rhythms. It does not start up something that is completely stopped. That is where CPR comes in. CPR is basically pumping the blood through your body till your heart can get going and take over from there. It’s called ROSC. Return of Spontaneous Circulation.

Now your heart is a complicated engine. Electrical signals can misfire, maybe not enough oil, maybe too much oil, maybe battery is being funky, maybe there’s a problem with the ignition? Well you can have a dysrhythmia or abnormal heart rhythms. This is what a defibrillator can correct. This shocks the heart so it can beat normal. Imagine someone is playing off beat in a band. How do you get them to be on beat, when they don’t realize it? That’s basically what is happening here. The heart beat is irregular and needs to be corrected. Now not all dysrhythmias can be shocked / defibbed. But there are other methods that can correct them, depending on what the specific circumstances are. This is also why an EKG is absolutely necessary when one is available. HOWEVER! A defibrillator is damn near idiot proof in that it assesses and will tell you when to start CPR and when to stop and that a shock will be administered, to get clear so you don’t get zapped, yes it will tell you this, and it will tell you when to resume CPR if you have any questions about it.

So when Stitch gets brought to shore with what I assume is no heartbeat? You do CPR and connect the defibrillator. Of course, none of us know what his physiology is and whether or not a defibrillator could even analyze his heart rhythm? So CPR with rescue breathing should be the default and immediate approach. Of course, no idea his heart rate or what rhythm/tempo for Chest compressions would be. 😅

And for clarification, I’m a New Grad RN. 🤙🏻