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Cardiovascular Research 2002 55(2):220-224; doi:10.1016/S0008-6363(02)00416-9
© 2002 by European Society of Cardiology
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Copyright © 2002, European Society of Cardiology

Defibrillation and cardioversion

Bernard Lown1

Lown Cardiovascular Center, 21 Longwood Ave., Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Received 18 March 2002; accepted 26 March 2002

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Going back to the ‘archaic past and to obsolete ancestors’ [1] provides insight not only where we came from but where we might be heading. Indeed history matters in medicine as it does in everyday life. It is now 40 years since the introduction of DC defibrillation and cardioversion [2,3]. Like the proverbial pebble cast in the water, the ripple effects of these technologies extend beyond the horizon of early prediction. Among the more important consequences were: stimulating the development of coronary care units, facilitating the emergence of coronary bypass and other heart operations, focusing attention on the still formidable out-of-hospital problem of sudden cardiac death, advancing the field of clinical electrophysiology and contributing to implantable devices to protect against death from malignant arrhythmias. Most important are the countless lives saved with this straightforward medical advance.

From time immemorial, drugs, potions and herbs were the mainstay in treating arrhythmias . . . [Full Text of this Article]


   1 Direct current (DC) defibrillation
 

   2 Cardioversion
 

   3 Ventricular tachycardia
 

   4 Atrial fibrillation (AF)
 

   5 Final comments
 

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