ZOLL LifeVest

On my husband’s first visit to his cardiologist he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. He didn’t have a pulse for 45 seconds. His doctor administered CPR and he was taken to the hospital where he stayed for several days. He was sent home wearing a ZOLL LifeVest, a wearable defibrillator. The device sounds a bell like alarm, similar to those in elevators when you arrive at your floor. He has 15 seconds to push the buttons to deactivate the defibrillator before it administers a taser-like shock.

We learned most heart problems happen between 4 and 6 AM. His defibrillator alarm sounded this morning at 3:54. When we hear it we don’t know how many seconds have passed already. It’s dark, we’re half awake and he’s searching for the buttons on the purse-like battery carrier to deactivate the device to prevent getting shocked while awake. The alarm sounds if a pulse cannot be detected or if one of the four sensors loosens its attachment to the skin. I’ve been up since the alarm sounded, trying to stay calm, having some decaf green tea and toast.