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Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach or VT) is a cardiovascular disorder in which fast heart rate occurs in the ventricles of the heart. [3] Although a few seconds of VT may not result in permanent problems, longer periods are dangerous; and multiple episodes over a short period of time are referred to as an electrical storm.
Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is an abnormal heart rhythm in which the ventricles of the heart quiver. [2] It is due to disorganized electrical activity. [2] Ventricular fibrillation results in cardiac arrest with loss of consciousness and no pulse. [1] This is followed by sudden cardiac death in the absence of treatment. [2]
It has been considered as a possible transition stage between ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation, and is a critically unstable arrhythmia that can result in sudden cardiac death. [citation needed] [1] It can occur in infancy, [2] youth, [3] or as an adult. It can be induced by programmed electrical stimulation. [4] [5]
Having V-tach is really dangerous and can develop into another dangerous rhythm Ventricular fibrillation, both of these require immediate medical attention. VT is treated with cardioversion, either drug cardioversion or electrical cardioversion. Drug cardioversion involves a drug treatment that aims to lower the heart rate back to a normal rhythm.
Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). [1] [2] A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a counter-shock) to the heart.
It is usually a regular, wide complex tachycardia with a rate between 120 and 250 beats per minute. A medically significant subvariant of ventricular tachycardia is called torsades de pointes (literally meaning "twisting of the points", due to its appearance on an EKG), which tends to result from a long QT interval. [18]
There are two major classes of cardiac fibrillation: atrial fibrillation and ventricular fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is an irregular and uncoordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle of atria. It can be a chronic condition, usually treated with anticoagulation and sometimes with conversion to normal sinus rhythm.
It is needed for the chaotic rhythm of ventricular fibrillation and is also used for pulseless ventricular tachycardia. Often, more electricity is required for defibrillation than for cardioversion. In most defibrillation, the recipient has lost consciousness so there is no need for sedation.