Ventricular fibrillation causes

Ventricular fibrillation Microchapters
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ogheneochuko Ajari, MB.BS, MS [2]

Overview

The heart pumps blood to the lungs, brain, and other organs. Interruption of the heartbeat for only a few seconds can lead to fainting (syncope) or cardiac arrest. Fibrillation is an uncontrolled twitching or quivering of muscle fibers (fibrils). When it occurs in the lower chambers of the heart, it is called ventricular fibrillation. During ventricular fibrillation, blood is not pumped from the heart. Sudden cardiac death results. The most common cause of VF is a heart attack. However, VF can occur whenever the heart muscle does not get enough oxygen.

Causes

Life Threatening Causes

Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.

• Aortic dissection
• Myocardial infarction
• Pericardial tamponade
• Pulmonary embolism
• Tension pneumothorax
• Unstable angina

Common Causes

• Cardiomyopathies
• Commotio cordis
• Congenital heart disease
• Electrocution
• Heart attack
• Heart surgery
• Narrowed coronary arteries
• Sudden cardiac death

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Abnormal automaticity, acute myocardial rupture, aortic dissection, aortic stenosis, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, Brugada syndrome, cardiomyopathies, commotio cordis, complete heart block, congenital heart disease, coronary artery spasm, dilated cardiomyopathy, heart attack, heart block, heart surgery, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, hypokalemia, hypoxia, ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, myocardial ischemia, myocarditis, pericardial tamponade, preexcitation syndrome, prolonged QT syndrome, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension, re-entry or circus motion, short QT syndrome, sudden cardiac death, sudden infant death syndrome, torsade de pointes, unstable angina, valvular heart disease, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome
Chemical/Poisoning	Belladonna, environmental poisoning
Dental	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	No underlying causes
Drug Side Effect	Amiodarone, calcium chloride, calcium gluconate, Eletriptan, ergotamine tartrate, ibutilide, increased catecholamine levels, medications, phenobarbital, pramipexole, proarrhythmic drugs
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	Increased catecholamine levels
Environmental	Environmental poisoning
Gastroenterologic	No underlying causes
Genetic	Brugada syndrome, congenital heart disease
Hematologic	Pulmonary embolism
Iatrogenic	No underlying causes
Infectious Disease	Myocarditis, sepsis
Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic	No underlying causes
Neurologic	Intracranial hemorrhage, ischemic stroke, Pickwickian syndrome, sleep apnea
Nutritional/Metabolic	Acid-base disturbances, electrolyte imbalance
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	No underlying causes
Ophthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose/Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	Aspiration, bronchospasm, hypoxia, Pickwickian syndrome, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension, sudden infant death syndrome, tension pneumothorax
Renal/Electrolyte	Electrolyte imbalance, hypokalemia
Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy	No underlying causes
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Electric shock, electrocution
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Drowning, hyperthermia, hypothermia, idiopathic,

Causes in Alphabetical Order

• Abnormal automaticity
• Acid-base disturbances
• Acute myocardial rupture
• Amiodarone
• Aortic dissection
• Aortic stenosis
• Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia
• Aspiration
• Belladonna
• Bronchospasm
• Brugada syndrome
• Calcium chloride
• Calcium gluconate
• Cardiomyopathies
• Commotio cordis
• Complete heart block
• Congenital heart disease
• Coronary artery spasm
• Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Drowning
• Electric shock
• Electrocution
• Electrolyte imbalance
• Environmental poisoning
• Ergotamine tartrate
• Heart attack
• Heart block
• Heart surgery
• Hyperthermia
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
• Hypokalemia

• Hypothermia
• Hypoxia
• Ibutilide
• Idiopathic
• Increased catecholamine levels
• Intracranial hemorrhage
• Ischemic stroke
• Medications
• Myocardial infarction
• Myocardial ischemia
• Myocarditis
• Pericardial tamponade
• Phenobarbital
• Pickwickian syndrome
• Pramipexole
• Preexcitation syndrome
• Proarrhythmic drugs
• Prolonged QT syndrome
• Pulmonary embolism
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Re-entry or circus motion
• Sepsis
• Short QT syndrome
• Sleep apnea
• Sudden cardiac death
• Sudden infant death syndrome
• Tension pneumothorax
• Torsade de pointes
• Unstable angina
• Valvular heart disease
• Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome