What is ventricular fibrillation?
[return to top] 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 will deteriorate to asystole (a flat line) if not treated promptly. For each minute that VF persists, the likelihood of successful resuscitation decreases by approximately 10 percent.
