Defibrillator Power Calculation: A Guide to Joules

External cardiac defibrillators help save many lives. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, the most common heart rhythm seen in adult, witnessed cardiac arrest victims is ventricular fibrillation. Since cardiac defibrillators are designed to treat this condition, their availability and proper use have the potential to save many lives. While the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends standard joule settings for adult patients during resuscitation, for children, the AHA recommends either using an automated external defibrillator (AED) with a child dose attenuator, or calculating the number of joules based on joules per kilogram of the child's body weight.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

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Instructions

• 1

  Verify whether the defibrillator has an automated child dose attenuator. If not, estimate the child's weight.

• 2

  Convert the child's weight from pounds to kilograms by dividing by 2.2. For example, a child who weighs 60 pounds weighs about 27.27 kilograms.

• 3

  Multiply the child's weight in kilograms by the number of joules per kilogram. For example, the AHA recommends a starting dose of 2 joules per kilogram, so a child who weighs 27.27 kilograms would receive 55 joules.

• 4

  Set the defibrillator to the correct number of joules, and continue the defibrillation process.