Ventricular Fibrillation
Ventricular Fibrillation
Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is a medical emergency that can be life-threatening if not treated right away. It occurs when the heart’s electrical activity becomes disordered, causing the heart to quiver instead of beating regularly. This prevents the heart from pumping blood throughout the body. VF can be caused by heart attacks, electric shock, or medical conditions such as certain kinds of heart defects.
When VF occurs, individuals may experience sudden collapse, difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, and no pulse or heartbeat. Treatment for VF should be done as quickly as possible as its prognosis depends on response time to defibrillation. This involves delivering electric shocks to the chest to help restore a regular heart rhythm.
Symptoms of Ventricular Fibrillation
The symptoms of VF are usually sudden and include:
- Sudden collapse
- Breathing difficulty
- Loss of consciousness
- The absence of a pulse or a heartbeat
Causes of Ventricular Fibrillation
VF can be caused by a number of different factors. These include:
- A heart attack – when the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen-rich blood become blocked, this can cause the heart tissue to become damaged, leading to VF.
- Electric shock – when electricity passes through the heart, it can disrupt the heart’s normal electrical rhythm, leading to VF.
- Medical conditions – certain medical conditions such as certain kinds of heart defects can lead to VF.
Treatment of Ventricular Fibrillation
Treatment for VF should be done as quickly as possible to help restore the heart to a normal rhythm. This is done with a procedure known as defibrillation. Defibrillation is a medical procedure where electric shocks are delivered to the chest, using either a manual device (defibrillator) or a machine that does the same job (automated external defibrillator), to bring back the heart’s regular rhythm.
Complications of Ventricular Fibrillation
The longer the person experiencing VF remains untreated, the worse the chances of survival become. Possible complications of VF include:
- Brain damage due to lack of oxygen
- Organ failure due to lack of oxygen to the organs
- Cardiac arrest
- Death
