Electroconvulsive Therapy

The electroconvulsive therapy is commonly preferred as ECT and also called as electroshock. The electroconvulsive therapy was developed in the 1930s. This therapy is widely used in the mental illness. The electroconvulsive therapy is specially used for the mental illness. This therapy is done by the highly skilled health doctors and nurses under the direct supervision of a psychiatrist. A course of treatment with ECT usually consists of six to twelve treatments.

The ECT should be used to gain fast and short-term improvement of severe symptoms after all other treatment. This is controversial treatment used for a variety of mental problems. The death rate from ECT used to be quoted as 1 for every 1,000 patients. After this by using the modern electroconvulsive therapy has been reduced little 4.5 in 100,000 patients.

In which conditions electroconvulsive therapy is used?

• Severe depressive illness
• Memory loss
• Hallucinations
• Severe episode of mania
• Catatonia if the conditions
• Headaches
• Psychiatric and neurological conditions
• Management of schizophrenia

How the electroconvulsive therapy work?

The electroconvulsive therapy is used for the mental problems and when the other medicines are not effective for this. The ECT involves placing electrodes on the temples on one or both sides of the patient's head, and delivering a small electrical current. The brain is an organ that functions through complex electrochemical processes.

After the electroconvulsive therapy treatment the drug therapy can be continued and some patients receive maintenance ECT. The ECT is the most effective and most rapidly acting treatment available for severe major depression. The patients are treated with short-acting anaesthetics, muscle relaxants and breathe pure oxygen.

What are the complications of electroconvulsive therapy?

• Heart rate and blood pressure increases
• Body pain
• Memory loss
• Stiffness
• Confusion
• Hypotension
• Nausea