title: Aborted sudden death from sustained ventricular fibrillation.
abstract: Ventricular fibrillation usually is sustained and unrelenting in human subjects and rarely is self-terminating after 30 seconds' duration. Temporal evolution of the arrhythmia in our patient suggested that organization of electrical activity varies over time. Interaction of organization with high catecholamine levels and hyperkalemia may play a role in self-termination of ventricular fibrillation. Understanding the true mechanisms of spontaneous defibrillation may provide newer therapeutic options for treatment of this otherwise fatal arrhythmia.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, University Health Network, The Toby Hull Cardiac Fibrillation Management Laboratory, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Krishnakumar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: Karthikeyan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Umapathy
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Downar
authors.forename: Kumaraswamy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nanthakumar
mesh_terms: D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology