Causes of ventricular fibrillation

What is ventricular fibrilation?

Ventricular fibrilation is an emergency condition of heart, which happens when heart beats rapidly, with erratic electrical impulses. It can have fatal consequences, because the person experiencing ventricular fibrilation will lose consciousness, and it will not take long before they stop breathing and before their pulse disappears.

However, since this condition is practically more likely to occur in those who have some kind of heart problems, they should be familiar with the early signs which might indicate ventricular fibrilation, because these signs are not at all difficult to notice. They refer to nausea, dizziness, pain in the chest and shortness of the breath, as well as tachycardia, or rapid heartbeat. Since this condition requires professional and medical help, it is necessary to call the emergency as soon as possible.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is recommended in case somebody of the present people is familiar with the technique. What can also help while waiting for the emergency, particularly in cases when nobody is familiar with the technique of CPR, is just pushing hard and fast on the person’s chest. It can be life saving in some cases, and it can increase the chances of survival, because if left untreated, this condition results in death in a few minutes only.

Causes of ventricular fibrilation

Even though there are cases in which it is practically impossible to diagnose the cause of ventricular fibrilation, it actually occurs as a result of abnormal electrical impulses, which begin in ventricles and which make them quivery instead of pumping the blood. This will affect blood pressure plummets, and will cut off the supply of blood to the vital organs, of which the most important might be the brain.

People who are more prone to ventricular fibrilation are those who have already had some kind of experience with this condition, those with a heart attack, cardiomyopathy, injuries that damage the heart muscle, as well as those who use some illegal drugs, or newborns with a heart defect. Besides with medications and certain therapies, this condition is very frequently treated by surgery, and there are several available options, but the majority refers to implantation of mechanical devices which are effective in restoring the normal heart rate.

Healthier lifestyle and habits of eating and living can also help in preventing ventricular fibrilation, all of which should be reasons for people who are predisposed to this condition to stop smoking and begin to eat healthier, for start.