Ventricular Fibrillation

Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is a very fast, chaotic heart rate in the lower chambers of the heart. Ventricular fibrillation can occur spontaneously (generally caused by heart disease) or when ventricular tachycardia has persisted too long. The instant ventricular fibrillation begins, effective blood pumping stops. Ventricular fibrillation quickly becomes more erratic, resulting in sudden cardiac arrest. This must be corrected immediately via a shock from an external defibrillator or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The defibrillator stops the chaotic electrical activity and restores normal heart rhythm.