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Ventricular fibrillation - Symptom

Alternative Names

VF; Fibrillation - ventricular

Symptoms:

A person who has a VF episode will suddenly collapse or become unconscious, because the brain and muscles have stopped receiving blood from the heart.

The following symptoms may occur within 1 hour before the collapse:

Chest pain
Dizziness
Nausea
Rapid heartbeat
Shortness of breath

Signs and tests:

VF is an emergency condition. Seek immediate medical attention.

The pulse in the neck and groin area may be hard or impossible to feel. The person will be unresponsive.

The health care provider will listen to the heart with a stethoscope. The heartbeats may not be heard, or they may be very irregular.

A cardiac monitor will show a disorganized heart rhythm.

Heart, section through the middle

Heart, front view

Reviewed last on: 6/1/2010
Issam Mikati, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Director, Northwestern Clinic Echocardiography Lab, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Olgin JE, Zipes DP. Specific arrhythmias: diagnosis and treatment. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 35.

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