How are defibrillators really used?

By Jeremy Shere

Posted January 3, 2022

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D: Hey Yaël, do you have...

Y: Shh! I'm watching my favorite medical drama, "Very Attractive Doctors."

D: Sorry. What's going on?

Y: A terrible accident victim was just brought into the ER. Oh no, she's flatlining! Quick, grab those paddle things and shock her!

D: Wrong move.

Y: Whaddya mean? See, Dr. Smith is trying to shock her back to life. Flat line! Clear! Zap!

D: That may be how it's done on TV, but not in real life. See, those paddles, which are part of a machine called a defibrillator, don't work by shocking the heart back into action after its stopped beating. The word fibrillate mean flutter. It's used to describe what can happen when you have a heart attack. When the electrical pulses that make your heart beat go haywire your heart starts to beat irregularly, or flutter.

Y: So what do the paddles do?

D: They use just enough voltage to shock the heart back into a regular rhythm without burning the skin. It's kind of like restarting a computer when it freezes up. The defibrillator tries to do just what its name means--it de-fibrillates, meaning that it stops the irregular beating and resets the heart to beat regularly.

Y: And when the patient flatlines?

D: Then her heart has stopped beating. That's when its time for CPR and drugs, not the paddles. A defibrillator can't shock a heart back into life after its stopped working. It can only help stop a heart attack.

Y: [CHAGRINED] So "Very Attractive Doctors" isn't one hundred percent medically accurate.

D: No, but it is totally Hollywood.

A red defibrillator used in emergency situations sits on a white shelf

Defibrillator paddles don't actually work by shocking a heart back into action after it stops beating. (Government of Prince Edward Island / flickr)

How often have you been watching your favorite medical drama when suddenly, oh no! The patient is flatlining! Quick, grab those paddle things and shock her!

That may be how it's done on TV, but not in real life. Those paddles, which are part of a machine called a defibrillator, don't work by shocking the heart back into action after its stopped beating. The word fibrillate mean flutter. It's used to describe what can happen when you have a heart attack. When the electrical pulses that make your heart beat go haywire your heart starts to beat irregularly, or flutter.

Those paddles use just enough voltage to shock the heart back into a regular rhythm without burning the skin. It's kind of like restarting a computer when it freezes up. The defibrillator tries to do just what its name means--it de-fibrillates, meaning that it stops the irregular beating and resets the heart to beat regularly.

And when the patient flatlines, then the heart has stopped beating. That's when its time for CPR and drugs, not the paddles. A defibrillator can't shock a heart back into life after its stopped working. It can only help stop a heart attack.

So that medical drama might not be completely accurate, but it is totally Hollywood.

Reviewer: Bruce Martin, IU School of Medicine

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