Electricity stimulates muscles. The result is influenced by the current’s strength and the type of muscle it passes through. All of us have experienced a buzzing or tingling sensation that isn’t harmful. Flexor muscles, such the ones in our forearms that shut the fingers, undergo a persistent contraction when a current of more than 10 mA passes through them. The victim can be unable to release the current’s source, extending the time of contact and escalating the shock’s intensity.
Extensor muscles go into a severe spasm when a current of more than 10 mA passes through them. The victim could be launched, sometimes quite a distance, if the hip extensor muscles that lengthen the limbs away from the body are compromised. The abrupt contraction brought on by an electric shock may result in the tearing of muscles, ligaments, and tendons. If the shock is prolonged or the current is high, tissue can also catch fire. A 50 mA current across the heart has the potential to cause cardiac arrest. The muscle that pumps blood through the body, the heart, also beats. The electric impulses that regulate our heartbeat’s rhythm are the same ones that an ECG measures. These impulses can be obscured and the heart’s rhythm can be thrown off if an external current flows through it. This irregular pulse, or arrhythmia, can potentially result in ventricular fibrillation, a complete disorder of the rhythm. The heart stops pounding and the blood stops flowing when ventricular fibrillation happens. If a defibrillator is not used to restart a healthy heartbeat, the person quickly loses consciousness and passes away.
