As a medical professional with expertise in emergency care, I can provide you with an accurate understanding of how a defibrillator works in the context of a stopped heart. A defibrillator is a critical piece of equipment that can be life-saving in certain cardiac emergencies. It is designed to deliver an electrical shock to the heart. However, it's important to clarify that a defibrillator is not used to start a completely stopped heart. Instead, it is used for a condition called Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) or Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia (VT), where the heart is in a chaotic rhythm that prevents it from pumping blood effectively. In these situations, the heart is not completely stopped, but it is in a state where its normal rhythm is severely disrupted. The electrical shock from the defibrillator can reset the heart's rhythm, giving it the opportunity to restart and beat in a coordinated, normal manner, which is essential for effective blood circulation. To summarize, a defibrillator does not start a heart that is completely stopped (asystole), but it can be used to convert certain life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms back to a normal rhythm. read more >>

The only effective treatment is to deliver an electrical shock using a device called a defibrillator (to de-fibrillate the heart), which stops the chaotic rhythm of a heart in VF, giving it the chance to restart beating with a normal rhythm.read more >>