Can you survive ventricular fibrillation?

If the patient remains in ventricular fibrillation, pharmacological treatment should begin. Epinephrine is the first drug given and may be repeated every 3 to 5 minutes . If epinephrine is not effective, the next medication in the algorithm is amiodarone 300 mg.

If there is doubt about whether the rhythm is asystole or very fine VF, revert to the non-shockable arm of the algorithm, since: True fine VF is unlikely to be shocked successfully . Repeated shock of fine VF or asystole will cause myocardial injury, from both the electricity delivered and the interruptions to CPR.

V-fib most commonly occurs during an acute heart attack or shortly thereafter. When heart muscle does not get enough blood flow, it can become electrically unstable and cause dangerous heart rhythms. A heart that has been damaged by a heart attack or other heart muscle damage is vulnerable to V-fib.

Conclusions— Two types of VF exist in isolated rabbit hearts. Fast (type I) VF is associated with a steep APD restitution, a flat CT−1 restitution, and wandering wavelets. Slow (type II) VF is associated with a flat APD restitution, a steep CT−1 restitution, and spatiotemporal periodicity.

Emergency treatment for ventricular fibrillation includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and shocks to the heart with a device called an automated external defibrillator (AED) . Medications, implanted devices or surgery may be recommended to prevent episodes of ventricular fibrillation.