HWD and the Time to Defibrillation
- After arrhythmia onset, it takes roughly 5 to 6 seconds for the Hospital Wearable Defibrillator (HWD) to declare the presence of a treatable arrhythmia
- An additional 10 seconds is needed to validate the criteria for the arrhythmia
- Once the arrhythmia is validated and the responsiveness test is complete, therapy is typically delivered in less than one minute
- The timeline (arrhythmia detection to treatment shock) is typically less than one minute
- If the patient becomes unconscious, the device delivers an electrical shock to restore normal rhythm.