What Is a Ventilator?

A ventilator (VEN-til-a-tor) is a machine that supports breathing. These machines mainly are used in hospitals. Ventilators:
    Get oxygen into the lungs.
    Remove carbon dioxide from the body. (Carbon dioxide is a waste gas that can be toxic.)
   Help people breathe easier.
   Breathe for people who have lost all ability to breathe on their own.

  A ventilator often is used for short periods, such as during surgery when you're under general anesthesia (AN-es-THE-ze-ah). The term "anesthesia" refers to a loss of feeling and awareness. General anesthesia temporarily puts you to sleep.

 The medicines used to induce anesthesia can disrupt normal breathing. A ventilator helps make sure that you continue breathing during surgery.

 A ventilator also may be used during treatment for a serious lung disease or other condition that affects normal breathing.

 Some people may need to use ventilators long term or for the rest of their lives. In these cases, the machines can be used outside of the hospital—in long-term care facilities or at home.

 A ventilator doesn't treat a disease or condition. It's used only for life support.

 While modern ventilators are generally thought of as computerized machines, patients can be ventilated indefinitely with a bag valve mask, a simple hand-operated machine. After Hurricane Katrina, dedicated staff "bagged" patients in New Orleans hospitals for days with simple bag valve masks.

  Ventilators are chiefly used in intensive care medicine, home care, and emergency medicine (as standalone units) and in anesthesia (as a component of an anesthesia machine).

  Because the failure of a mechanical ventilation system may result in death, it is classed as a life-critical system, and precautions must be taken to ensure that mechanical ventilation systems are highly reliable. This includes their power-supply provision.