New Insight Into Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib)
We have fairly exciting news to report surrounding the very lethal cardiac rhythm disturbance V-Fib (ventricular fibrillation). This very sudden and deadly “electric explosion” that occurs inside the hearts of both old and young alike has long eluded scientists and researchers.
The new research suggest that the tornado like activity of V-Fib and its electrical waves is organized into spiral vortices, no matter what species of mammal is experiencing the VF. These vortices or rotors as they are sometimes called, keep the heart’s pumping chambers from pumping in sync, thus disorganized impulses and ultimately death.
The paper also shows that across animal species — from mice and guinea pigs to sheep and humans — the frequency of the VF activity can be scaled using a universal formula related to body mass. So too can the size of the core of the electrical rotors — the “eyes” of the individual electrical storms.
This means that body size aside, the rate of fibrillation changes accordingly which is very, very exciting news. Did I say very? Uh huh, indeed! This helps in erasing previous concerns about the relevance of studies in small animals like mice to understand the most lethal cardiac arrhythmia in people.
Currently the placement of AED’s, internally implanted AICD’s and quick 911 response are the only saving graces for those that experience ventricular fibrillation. Even working in a hospital critical care setting I can assure you that this is the most lethal arrhythmia and time is of the essence.
Tags: aed, aicd, body_mass, cardiac_arrhythmia, cardiac_rhythm, critical_care, electrical_storms, electrical_waves, guinea_pigs, impulses, rotors, universal_formula, vfRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Hearty Blogging
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