It can be fatal. For many people with this condition, irregular heart rhythms are the first and only sign of coronary artery disease. Ventricular fibrillation VFib may be confused with atrial fibrillation AFib.
Both involve irregular heart rhythms, but they affect different parts of the heart. AFib can also signal a serious heart condition, but it is typically a symptom of a chronic problem, not a life-threatening feature in itself. In emergency treatment, focus is on restoring blood flow as quickly as possible to the organs, including the brain. The patient may also receive treatment to minimize the risk of a recurrence. Emergency treatments may include cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR and use of a defibrillator.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR aims to restore blood flow through the body. Anybody with some basic life support training can do it.
In the past, CPR involved cycles of 30 chest compressions to the heart, and then two mouth-to-mouth resuscitation breaths. Instead, the responder should deliver about two compressions per second, or between and per minute. The chest should be allowed to rise back between compressions.
Once they have started, they should continue until either emergency personnel arrive or somebody comes with a portable defibrillator. A defibrillator can be used together with CPR.
The aim is to shock the heart back into normal activity. The shock may initially stop the heartbeat, but it can also stop chaotic rhythms and restore normal function.
A public-use defibrillator can be used by a layperson. These devices often have voice instructions on their use. A public-use defibrillator is programmed to detect ventricular fibrillation and emit a shock at the right moment. In many countries, public-use, portable defibrillators are available in public places, such as airports, major train and bus stations, shopping malls, community centers, places where elderly people gather, casinos, and so on.
When the human heart beats, electrical impulses that trigger a contraction need to follow a specific route to the heart. If there is something wrong with the path of these impulses, arrhythmia , or irregular heartbeat, may occur.
When the muscles in the four chambers of the heart tighten, a heartbeat occurs. During a heartbeat, a chamber closes and pushes blood out. During a heartbeat, the muscular atria, or smaller upper chambers, contract and fill the relaxed ventricles with blood.
The contraction begins when the sinus node, a small group of cells in the right atrium, emits an electrical impulse which makes the right and left atria contract.
The electrical impulse continues to the center of the heart, to the atrioventricular node. This node is located on the pathway between the atria and the ventricles. From the atrioventricular node, the impulse travels through the ventricles, making them contract. The most common signs of ventricular fibrillation are sudden collapse or fainting, because the muscles and brain have stopped receiving blood from the heart.
The left and right atria form the upper chambers of the heart, and the left and right ventricles form the two lower chambers. Together, all four chambers pump blood to and from the body. When the atria, the two upper chambers, contract at an excessively high rate, and in an irregular way, the patient has atrial fibrillation AFib. When the two lower chambers beat irregularly and flutter, the patient has ventricular fibrillation VFib. Both produce an irregular heart rhythm. Ventricular fibrillation is due to defective electrical impulses.
It causes the ventricles to quiver uselessly, pumping virtually no blood into the body. The heart ends up without an effective heartbeat.
Blood stops flowing around the body, and vital organs, including the brain, lose their blood supply. A patient with ventricular fibrillation will typically lose consciousness very quickly and will require immediate, emergency medical assistance, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR. This chaotic heartbeat means very little blood is pumped from the heart to the brain and body and can result in fainting.
Medical attention is needed right away. About , deaths from heart attacks each year are thought to be caused by ventricular fibrillation. People who have heart disease or a history of heart attack have the highest risk of ventricular fibrillation. A less serious type of ventricular arrhythmia is a premature ventricular contraction PVC. As the name suggests, the condition happens when the ventricles contract too soon, out of sequence with the normal heartbeat.
PVCs sometimes called PVB for premature ventricular beat generally are not a cause for alarm and often do not need treatment. But if you have heart disease or a history of ventricular tachycardia, PVCs can cause a more serious arrhythmia.
Although most PVCs happen quickly and without warning, they can also happen in response to caffeine, which is found in coffee, tea, sodas, and chocolate. Some kinds of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines may also cause PVCs. Sometimes, they do not even require treatment. Like PVCs, atrial arrhythmias can happen in response to a number of things, including tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, and cough and cold medicines. The disorder also may result from rheumatic heart disease or an overactive thyroid gland hyperthyroidism.
Supraventricular arrhythmias can cause shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest tightness, and a very fast pulse. Supraventricular tachycardia SVT is a rapid, regular heart rate where the heart beats anywhere from times per minute in the atria. The beats in the atria then speed up the heart rate. This type of arrhythmia is more common in infants and young people.
It is also more likely to occur in women, anxious young people, and people who are extremely tired fatigued. People who drink a lot of coffee or alcohol or who are heavy smokers also have a greater risk.
Atrial fibrillation is a fast, irregular rhythm where single muscle fibers in your heart twitch or contract. It is a main cause of stroke, especially among elderly people.
Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is an irregular heartbeat arrhythmia that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure, and other heart-related…. Implants and devices are often able to control AFib and reduce blood clots. Learn more about this alternative to taking blood thinners. Atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib or AF, is an electrical disorder of the upper chambers of the heart.
Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Atrial Fibrillation vs. Ventricular Fibrillation. Medically reviewed by Graham Rogers, M. What are the atria and ventricles? How does AFib affect the body? How does VFib affect the body? Preventing AFib and VFib. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Elaine K. Luo, M. Medically reviewed by Emelia Arquilla, DO. Foods to Avoid with Atrial Fibrillation.
Atrial Fibrillation: Facts, Statistics, and You. Medically reviewed by Gerhard Whitworth, R. Medically reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph. Effects of Atrial Fibrillation on the Body.
0コメント