- Definition
- Etiology
- Epidemiology
- Management & Treatment
- Prevention
- Complications
- Prognosis
- Clinical Case Studies
- Study Questions
Ventricular Fibrillation is a rapid, disorganized ventricular arrhythmia resulting in no uniform ventricular contraction, no cardiac output, and no recordable blood pressure. The electrocardiogram in VF shows rapid (300–400 bpm), irregular, shapeless QRST complexes with variable amplitude, morphology, and intervals.
Over time, these waveforms decrease in amplitude.
Ultimately, asystole occurs.
Immediate unsynchronized cardioversion is the treatment of choice, f
ollowed by intravenous antiarrythmics such as amiodarone
IV amiodarone
Content 4
In the setting of significant structural heart disease, sustained VT (defined as an episode longer than 30 seconds) predicts a poor prognosis.
This is a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia because it may lead to ventricular fibrillation. With ventricular fibrillation, the heartbeats are so fast and irregular that the heart stops pumping blood.
Content 11
A 75-year-old male with HTN, DM2, ESRD, PVD, and CAD with a CABG in the past is admitted with an acute ST elevation myocardial infarction status post–cardiac stent placement. He has a BP of 90/50, and a heart rate of 110 bpm early in the morning. You are at the nurses' station and the telemetry monitor goes off showing the rhythm in Figure
