Treatment is directed at withdrawal of the offending agent, infusion of magnesium sulfate, antiarrhythmic drugs, and electrical therapy as needed.

"Jimmy put the electric power in me," said Kovalev, referring to the trainer Jim Ramsay and his electrical therapy.

They now massage other parts of the body than the spine, give water and electrical therapy, administer anesthetics, prescribe drugs, and even perform elementary surgery, like yanking tonsils or delivering babies.

But in a surprising development, Dr. William T. Abraham, the head of cardiology at the University of Kentucky, reported a trial in which electrical therapy led to striking improvement among patients with severe heart failure characterized by certain abnormalities in their electrocardiograms.

In the United States, many advanced EMTs and all paramedics are trained to recognize lethal arrhythmias and deliver appropriate electrical therapy with a manual defibrillator when appropriate.

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of electrical therapy which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm.

Ultimately, EMT-CC's are capable of initiating venous access, administering medications, performing endotracheal intubation, interpreting ECGs, performing electrical cardiac therapy, performing chest decompression, performing intraosseous access and comply with all state defined Basic Life Support (BLS) protocols.

To do this, one must use new treatments, including new medicines, natural hormones, electrical therapies and lifestyle modification.