Hospital Wearable Defibrillator (HWD)


For patients in the hospital at risk of sudden cardiac death, every minute matters. Rapid treatment can mean the difference between neurologically intact survival or something less.

HWD is the latest technological innovation available to support in-hospital patients at risk of ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF).

The ZOLL HWD is designed to:

  • Continuously monitor patients at risk of sudden cardiac death
  • Detect life-threatening rapid heartbeat
  • Automatically provide treatment without bystander intervention

In a typical situation, the entire event, from detecting a life-threatening rapid heartbeat to automatically delivering a treatment shock, occurs in about one minute. When the heart can be returned quickly to a perfusing rhythm, long-term complications can be minimized.1

Every minute matters

Timely defibrillation is important to all patients at risk of sudden cardiac death. Despite advances in care management, the outcomes for patients experiencing in-hospital cardiac arrest remain poor, with survival to discharge rates typically around 26.4%.2

The New England Journal of Medicine compared data on shockable rhythms and found that when response time exceeded two minutes, survival dropped significantly.3 In fact, survival drops 10% for every minute shock delivery is delayed.4

We can still do better.

Streamlined care

The HWD complements existing hospital resuscitation protocols with a means of providing early defibrillation to at-risk patients and helps hospital clinicians provide continuous monitoring, rapid detection, and automatic treatment. The HWD aims to improve response times to these patients in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest.

Peace of mind

The nature of cardiac arrests coupled with the limitations of traditional resuscitation protocols makes treating sudden cardiac arrest challenging.

Another goal of the HWD is to ease the minds of patients and their families. Knowing that at-risk patients are protected day and night in the hospital can also provide reassurance to the care team, regardless of hospital staffing levels, time of day, or the unit patients are treated in.

Learn how you can make Every Minute Matter.

The Hospital Wearable Defibrillator is currently available in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Please contact your local ZOLL representative for more information.

1 Larsen MP, et al. Ann Emerg Med. 1993;22: 1652–58.
2 Benjamin EJ, et al. Circulation. 2018;137:e67–e492.
3 Chan PS, et al. N Engl J Med. 2008;358:9–17.
4 Cummins RO. Ann Emerg Med. 1989;18(12):1269–75.

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