What is ventricular fibrillation?
Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) is an abnormal heart rhythm often seen in sudden cardiac arrest. This rhythm is caused by an abnormal and very fast electrical activity in the heart. VF is chaotic and unorganized; the heart just quivers and cannot effectively pump blood. VF will be short lived and deteriorate to asystole (a flat line) if not treated promptly.
Ventricular fibrillation refers to an abnormal heart rhythm that changes the way the ventricles contract. It is usually sudden and always life threatening. It thus constitutes a medical emergency, requiring treatment right away, since the heart can easily stop and not restart. Most people aren’t likely to ignore the condition if it occurs in front of others, since it typically causes unconsciousness within a minute or two. There are many potential causes of ventricular fibrillation. Structural anomalies in the heart may result in it, as can recent surgeries of any kind on the heart or cardiomyopathy. People who drown, experience a high voltage shock, or who go into anaphylactic shock could experience this condition too. Other causal factors include reduced blood levels of potassium, and sometimes the use of medications that may affect potassium. Most often though, a ventricular fibrillation episode occurs in conjunction with a heart attack and could be proceeded by heart attack symptom
Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is an abnormal heart rhythm that occurs in at least 80% of the cases of sudden cardiac arrest. It’s caused by abnormal and very fast electrical activity in the heart. VF is chaotic and unorganized. The heart just quivers and can’t pump blood. VF will be short lived and will deteriorate to asystole (a flat line) and certain death if not treated promptly. For each minute that VF persists, the likelihood of survival drops by 7-10 percent.
Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is an abnormal heart rhythm often seen in sudden cardiac arrest. This rhythm is caused by an abnormal and very fast electrical activity in the heart. VF is chaotic and unorganized. The heart just quivers and cannot effectively pump blood. VF will be short lived and deteriorate to asystole (a flat line) if not treated immediately.