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Comment by gadders | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if those implanted defibrillators would be more manageable if they gave you (say) a 15 or 30 second audible warning so you could prepare yourself?

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Perhaps they would, but I would guess that you would still get scared when hearing the warning instead of the shock it self.

For example if you would get stabbed 15 seconds after hearing a beep I think you would develop pavlovian like response to the beep itself.

Counterpoint: a warning may not avert the fear but still be beneficial in cases where the person needs to prepare themselves to avoid a sudden fall/etc.

Could see it very useful if you're driving. Might even save other peoples lives in the case of a crash.

Depends on the jurisdiction, but in most places it is unlawful to drive in the 6-18 months following implant or a shock from an ICD.

If I had a disease like that - I would not want to drive at all.

What if it had the user press a button to trigger the shock? Would it help them prepare for it?

What are you going to do once you get the warning?

Mentally prepare.

As someone else said, mentally prepare, put down items you are carrying, maybe lay down on the floor?

As someone who has been shocked by the ICD, lying on the floor seems like a bad place for it, since the floor is a hard surface. You're gonna jolt and spaz and scream. According to my GF, the screams are quite terrifying. One of the orderlies or admissions people (I cannot remember which) at the ER laughed once when it happened to me. I don't think he was being a douche; more likely it was the whole unintentionally laughing at inappropriate times thing that happens to a lot of us, including me. Once the shocking started, the first thing I would do is lie back in my recliner in case there were more. Surprisingly, I don't think I've ever been shocked while vertical. It's always been in the chair, bed at home, hospital bed, or stretcher. I have no explanation for that; maybe a medical nerd knows if there are reasons why you're less likely to be shocked while vertical, or if I've just managed to beat the odds on that one.

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