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Ventricular Fibrillation
Alternate Names : VF
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Prognosis (Expectations)
Victims of VF may never convert to the normal rhythm, or they may die (within a few minutes or a few days of the VF) from cardiac failure or VF complications. For out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, the survival rates of VF are slim and range between 2% and 25%.
People who have survived an episode of VF are prone to have another episode, and should be evaluated by an electrophysiologist. Currently, many VF survivors are offered therapy through an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a device that is similar to a pacemaker and that can electrically treat new episodes of VF as soon as they occur. The ICD has shown to effectively prevent sudden cardiac death.
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• Definition
• Overview, Causes, & Risk Factors
• Symptoms & Signs
• Prevention
• Diagnosis & Tests
• Treatment
• Prognosis
• Complications
• Calling Your Health Care Provider
• Pictures & Images
Topics that might be of interest to you Diseases & Conditions
• Arrhythmias
• Cardiomyopathy
• Congenital Heart Disease
• Heart Attack
• Ischemic Cardiomyopathy
Other Topics
• Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator
Review Date : 6/2/2003
Reviewed By : Elena Sgarbossa, M.D., Department of Cardiology, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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