As most understand, survival of cardiac arrest victims falls significantly if cardioversion is not performed promptly. The standard of practice for out-of-hospital defibrillation is the implantable cardiac defibrillator; however, much has been written and discussed about the use of automated external defibrillators. Not as much has been written about life vest wearable defibrillators. How to use these devices will be reviewed in this article.
Defibrillators ; Electric Countershock ; instrumentation ; methods ; Humans

Basic studies have shown a variety of ion channels are involved in the pathogenesis of ischemic heart disease, including L type Ca(2+) channel, T type Ca(2+) channel, ATP-sensitive potassium channel, If (funny) channel and late Na(+) channel. Clinical studies showed that the regulation of these channels function can improve myocardial blood supply and metabolism of myocardium. What is summarized below relates to the clinical usefulness of various ion channel antagonists reviewed by a clinical cardiologist, not a basic scientist working on ion channel biology.
Cardiovascular Agents ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Ion Channels ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Myocardial Ischemia ; drug therapy