Primary ventricular fibrillation arrest (frequently referred to as V-Fib, or simply VF) has a high likelihood of survival if the patient receives timely defibrillation.
Because a defibrillator is not always readily available, CPR must frequently be used until a defibrillator can be obtained. CPR has been shown to improve survival rates when it is provided immediately following the onset of primary V-Fib. Even with CPR, however, as the time following the VF arrest lengthens, the chance of survival declines. This is why the availability of Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) has improved out-of-hospital survival of cardiac arrest.
Secondary ventricular fibrillation is caused most often by systemic disease and failure to receive adequate oxygen. Because this cause is often untreatable, treatment of the arrhythmia is not often associated with survival. Patients who develop VF as the result of septic shock, wide-spread metastatic disease, or severe trauma have statistically little chance of survival.
Treating primary V-Fib cardiac arrest with rapid defibrillation saves lives.
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