The purpose of both types is to return your heart rhythm to a typical reading as an abnormal one can lead to a coronary. The hearts main function is to pump blood and oxygen around the body. It works at perfect levels when your heart rhythm is standard. When the heart malfunctions, the rhythm changes leading to issues with the pumping mechanism. This is turn causes issues with the oxygen supply to critical organs including your cortex. Left untreated it can cause death or severe brain damage.

The body reacts to a scarcity of oxygen by forcing you to lose consciousness. But though this can buy you some additional minutes you may die unless an AED is used to return your heart rhythm to standard levels. An AED delivers a shock to your heart which should get the rhythm back to normal. It does not always work but the technology has saved many lives.

If you've a medical condition which predisposes you to cardiac arrest your health practitioner may recommend that you have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator put into your heart.

The device acts in much the same way as an AED. It'll deliver a shock if your heart rhythm does not stay within a specific range. Or your health practitioner might prefer to treat your condition with tablets. While it's very important to search out a 2nd medical opinion if you are not 100% satisfied with your health practitioner you shouldn't act on guidance you read on the internet. Only your medical staff are acquainted with your personal health history and they're properly qualified to assess your condition or refer you to a specialist. Some individuals are chary of having a defibrillator fitted but though the devices have been improved over time, the principles remain like those introduced in the 1960′s. So there have been lots of health tests and experiments carried out to check the safety of these devices.

Why cant I depend on an AED? If you're predisposed to a heart stoppage do you really want to take the chance that an automated external defibrillator will be available to you? Or that somebody close by will understand how to use it? Though we should have more AEDs and more people with AED training the truth is that at the moment there is a lack. If your physician suggests an internal device follow his advice!

Here is another example of a defibrillator sign with wording:

There are numerous signs available from a variety of sign manufacturers so unfortunately there isn’t a set standard. From my experience though, the white and red AED signage like the one above is the most widely used.