Ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib)
Ventricular fibrillation results when multiple sites in the ventricle fire electrical impulses very rapidly and in an uncoordinated fashion. This arrhythmia is rare in pediatric patients. The ventricles quiver and cease to pump blood effectively. Ventricular fibrillation is considered an emergency and requires electrical shock (defibrillation), since death follows within a few minutes, unless a normal rhythm is restored.
Ventricular fibrillation is usually a degeneration of other serious arrhythmias such as ventricular tachycardia. Ventricular fibrillation and Torsades de Pointes may be seen in patients with electrical disorders such as the Long QT syndrome, Short QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, ventricular tachycardia and others.
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