Treatment options can include: Medications. Doctors use various anti-arrhythmic drugs for emergency or long-term treatment of ventricular fibrillation. A class of medications called beta blockers is commonly used in people at risk of ventricular fibrillation or sudden cardiac arrest.
Full Answer
What is the best treatment for ventricular fibrillation?
Surgery or medical procedures to treat ventricular fibrillation include: 1 Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). An ICD is an implanted device that constantly monitors your heart rhythm. ... 2 Cardiac ablation. ... 3 Coronary angioplasty and stent placement. ... 4 Coronary bypass surgery. ...
What tests are used to diagnose ventricular fibrillation?
Tests to diagnose and determine the cause of ventricular fibrillation include: Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This quick and painless test measures the electrical activity of your heart. Sticky patches (electrodes) are placed on your chest and sometimes your arms and legs.
What are the characteristics of fine ventricular fibrillation?
Fine ventricular fibrillation is characterized by fibrillatory waves that are: A. less than 3 mm in amplitude. B. all deflected below the isoelectric line. C. consistently of the same appearance. D. consistently of the same amplitude.
What should you do if a middle-aged man in ventricular fibrillation is refractory?
A middle-aged man in ventricular fibrillation has been refractory to several biphasic defibrillations, well-coordinated CPR, adequately performed ventilations, and two doses of epinephrine. What should you do next? A. Rapidly infuse 2 liters of normal saline solution.
What is the treatment of choice for ventricular fibrillation?
External electrical defibrillation remains the most successful treatment for ventricular fibrillation (VF). A shock is delivered to the heart to uniformly and simultaneously depolarize a critical mass of the excitable myocardium.
What is the first treatment for ventricular fibrillation?
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. Defibrillation and medication are given in an alternating fashion between cycles of 2 minutes of high-quality CPR.
What is the drug of choice for ventricular arrhythmias?
Amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone, Nexterone) Amiodarone is the drug of choice for the treatment of hemodynamically unstable VT that is refractory to other antiarrhythmic agents. Prehospital studies currently suggest that amiodarone is safe and efficacious for use in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
What is the treatment of choice for ventricular tachycardia?
If you have ventricular tachycardia, you may be given medications called anti-arrhythmics by mouth or IV to slow the fast heart rate. Other heart medications, such as calcium channel blockers and beta blockers, may be prescribed with anti-arrhythmic drugs.
Why do you give epinephrine for ventricular fibrillation?
The theoretical benefit of vasopressor medicines, such as epinephrine and vasopressin, is that they increase coronary perfusion pressure. Coronary perfusion pressure is the difference between aortic and right atrial pressure during the relaxation phase of CPR, and it determines myocardial blood flow.
What is the initial treatment response for a patient in either pulseless ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation?
Ventricular Fibrillation/Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia. The most critical interventions during the first minutes of VF or pulseless VT are immediate bystander CPR (Box 1) with minimal interruption in chest compressions and defibrillation as soon as it can be accomplished (Class I).
Which of the following drugs is used in ventricular fibrillation?
In acute ventricular fibrillation (VF), drugs (eg, vasopressin, epinephrine, amiodarone) are used after three defibrillation attempts are performed to restore normal rhythm.
Which drug is used to treat atrial and ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation?
The class III drugs are used to treat primarily atrial fibrillation, however amiodarone is FDA approved only for the treatment of ventricular tachycardia. Amiodarone is very effective however amiodarone toxicity is a concern.
Is amiodarone used for ventricular tachycardia?
Amiodarone is used to manage virtually all forms of supraventricular and ventricular tachycardia and has therefore become one of the most frequently used antiarrhythmic drugs in clinical practice.
What is the protocol for pulseless ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation?
Medical treatment of pulseless VT usually is carried out along with defibrillation and includes intravenous vasopressors and antiarrhythmic drugs. 1 mg of epinephrine IV should be given every 3 to 5 minutes. Epinephrine can be replaced by vasopressin given 40 units IV once.
Are pacemakers used to treat ventricular tachycardia?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first of a new type of pacemaker that paces both ventricles of the heart to coordinate their contractions and improve their pumping ability.
Which type of cell depolarizes independently rather than in response to an impulse from the SA node?
A. many different cells in the heart depolarize independently rather than in response to an impulse from the SA node.
What happens when D.cardiac cells fail to repolarize?
D.cardiac cells in the ventricles fail to completely repolarize, resulting in a decrease in ventricular automaticity.
Is Defibrillation indicated in some cases of asystole?
D. Defibrillation is indicated in some cases of asystole.
Does D. produce a palpable pulse?
D. does not produce a palpable pulse
How does a defibrillator work?
Defibrillation is accomplished by the passage of a direct current electrical shock through the heart that is sufficient to depolarize the cells of the myocardium. The intent is that repolarization will allow the SA node to resume the role of the pacemaker.
What is amiodarone used for?
What is amiodarone? A complex agent with multiple effects on sodium, potassium, and calcium channels. Dose is 300 mg IVP for treatment of cardiac arrest due to shock resistant ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
What is the treatment for pulseless ventricular tachycardia?
Transcutaneous pacing is the treatment of choice for pulseless ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation.
Which rhythm has a narrow QRS complex?
The junctional escape rhythm will have a narrow QRS complex; the ventricular escape rhythm will have a wide QRS complex.
What is the intrinsic rate of idioventricular rhythm?
An idioventricular rhythm has an intrinsic rate of 40 to 60 BPM.
Why is ventricular fibrillation considered an emergency?
The goal of emergency treatment is to restore blood flow as quickly as possible to prevent organ and brain damage.
What is the procedure to reduce ventricular fibrillation?
Coronary angioplasty and stent placement. If your ventricular fibrillation was caused by a heart attack, this procedure may reduce your risk of future episodes of ventricular fibrillation.
What test is used to diagnose ventricular fibrillation?
Tests to diagnose and determine the cause of ventricular fibrillation include: Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This quick and painless test measures the electrical activity of your heart.
What to do if you are not trained to use an AED?
If you're not trained to use an AED, a 911 operator or another emergency medical operator may be able to give you instructions. Public-use AEDs are programmed to recognize ventricular fibrillation and send a shock only when needed.
What is the procedure to get blood flow to the heart?
Coronary bypass surgery. This open-heart surgery improves blood flow to the heart. It may be done if your ventricular fibrillation was caused by coronary artery disease. During bypass surgery, the surgeon takes a healthy blood vessel from your leg, arm or chest and connects it below and above the blocked arteries in your heart. This creates a new pathway for blood to flow through.
How does a cardiac ablation work?
Cardiac ablation. This procedure uses heat or cold energy to create tiny scars in your heart to block the abnormal electrical signals that cause ventricular fibrillation. It's most often done using thin, flexible tubes called catheters inserted through the veins or arteries. It may also be done during heart surgery.
What does ECG mean?
Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This quick and painless test measures the electrical activity of your heart. Sticky patches (electrodes) are placed on your chest and sometimes your arms and legs. Wires connect the electrodes to a computer, which displays the test results. An ECG can show if your heart is beating too fast, too slow or not at all. If you're having an episode of ventricular fibrillation, the ECG usually shows a heartbeat of about 300 to 400 beats a minute.
What is the treatment for ventricular fibrillation?
Ventricular fibrillation is primarily treated with defibrillation. If three successive shocks and epinephrine have been given, the next line agent would be an antiarrhythmic, such as lidocaine or amiodarone.
What is the treatment for blood flow?
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This treatment can help maintain blood flow through the body by mimicking the pumping motion your heart makes.
What is the difference between tachycardia and AFib?
Atrial tachycardia is a general term that indicates a cardiac condition where the rate of contraction of the heart's atria is fast and not normal, but does not describe the type of heart rhythm other than fast.
How long can you live with ventricular fibrillation?
Sometimes VT can last less than 30 seconds (nonsustained) and may not cause symptoms. But VT may be a sign of more-serious heart problems. If VT lasts more than 30 seconds, it will usually lead to palpitations, dizziness or fainting. Untreated VT will often lead to ventricular fibrillation.
What triggers ventricular tachycardia?
Known causes of ventricular tachycardia include: cardiomyopathy, which weakens the heart muscle. structural heart disease, which can be the result of heart damage from a previous heart attack. ischemic heart disease, which is caused by lack of blood flow to the heart.
How do you get rid of tachycardia fast?
Medications. If vagal maneuvers don't stop the fast heartbeat, you may need an injection of an anti-arrhythmic medication to restore a normal heart rate. Cardioversion.
Can V fib be cured?
Medicines and certain procedures after an episode of ventricular fibrillation can prevent or reduce the chances of another episode. An ICD can promptly treat V-fib.
Can ventricular fibrillation stop on its own?
Ventricular fibrillation seldom terminates spontaneously, since several re-entrant wavefronts, independent from each other, coexist, and the simultaneous extinction of all the circuits is unlikely.
What is cardioversion in hospital?
Cardioversion is performed in a hospital setting using a cardioversion machine that monitors your heart rhythm before and after shocks are delivered. An injection of an anti-arrhythmic medication, such as lidocaine, may also be used to treat sustained ventricular tachycardia and restore a normal heart rhythm. ...