Cardiac Arrest and Ventricular Fibrillation : A Method of Treatment by Electrical Shock

Cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation; a method of treatment by electrical shock.

Ventricular fibrillation is an incoordinated type of contraction which produces no useful beats. The typical rippling movements of the ventricular muscle are unmistakable when seen or felt with the hand directly on the heart. The treatment of a heart that has stopped is cardiac massage and adequate oxygenation. The treatment of ventricular fibrillation which we recommend is, first, massage to m...

Application of ultrasound in pulseless electrical activity (PEA) cardiac arrest

One-shock versus three-shock defibrillation protocol significantly improves outcome in a porcine model of prolonged ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest.

BACKGROUND The success of resuscitation with a 1-shock versus the conventional 3-shock defibrillation protocol was investigated subject to the range of treatment variation imposed by automated external defibrillators (AEDs). METHODS AND RESULTS Ventricular fibrillation was induced in 44 domestic pigs. After 7 minutes of untreated VF, animals were randomized among 4 groups representing all com...

Use of beta-blockers for the treatment of cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION Advanced Life Support guidelines recommend the use of epinephrine during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), as to increase coronary blood flow and perfusion pressure through its alpha-adrenergic peripheral vasoconstriction, allowing minimal rises in coronary perfusion pressure to make defibrillation possible. Contrasting to these alpha-adrenergic effects, epinephrine's beta-stimu...

Continued breathing followed by gasping or apnea in a swine model of ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest

BACKGROUND Continued breathing following ventricular fibrillation has here-to-fore not been described. METHODS We analyzed the spontaneous ventilatory activity during the first several minutes of ventricular fibrillation (VF) in our isoflurane anesthesized swine model of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The frequency and type of ventilatory activity was monitored by pneumotachometer and main s...