Feels like every medical drama (with some exceptions) just LOVES to whip out the paddles when someone flatlines. Where’d this trope start?
Feels like every medical drama (with some exceptions) just LOVES to whip out the paddles when someone flatlines. Where’d this trope start?
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I’d imagine from TV or films, a writer/director knew that a defib will shock the heart to get it beating correctly but didn’t know what rhythms it affects. Plus a flat line is more dramatic and easier for everyone to understand that this guy is fucked.
It’s the same with CPR. I saw a programme recently where the hero gave one rescue breath and three ineffective chest compressions to someone who was slumped in a sitting position. The not only revived but I think they stood up too.
Working in the ER, I’ve lost count of how many family members have asked why we weren’t ‘shocking’ their flatlined loved one. TV has really messed up people’s understanding of emergency medicine. You can’t restart a car with jumper cables if the engine isn’t even trying to turn over, same principle here.
Movie Flatliners in 1990 and then again in 2017 and other tv shows.
You answered your own question….. “medical dramas”.