Prolonged sustained ventricular fibrillation without loss of consciousness in patients supported by a left ventricular assist device. Cardiology 2002;97(4):210-3
Date
07/30/2002Pubmed ID
12145476DOI
10.1159/000063111Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0036048966 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 29 CitationsAbstract
Patients with cardiomyopathy of either ischemic or nonischemic origin are at increased risk for malignant ventricular arrhythmias. Normally sustained ventricular fibrillation (VF) leads to death very rapidly. We report two patients who remained in sustained VF, supported by a left ventricular assist device, for a prolonged period of time. Perfusion pressure through the device was sufficient to allow the patients to remain awake and responsive for several hours while in VF. The cases represent two of the longest reported episodes of sustained VF recorded in awake patients implanted with such devices.
Author List
Fasseas P, Kutalek SP, Kantharia BKAuthor
Panayotis Fasseas MD Associate Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AgedHeart Failure
Heart-Assist Devices
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Time Factors
Unconsciousness
Ventricular Fibrillation