Signs and Symptoms
Ventricular fibrillation is a cause of cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death. The ventricular muscle twitches randomly rather than contracting in a coordinated fashion (from the apex of the heart to the outflow of the ventricles), and so the ventricles fail to pump blood into the arteries and systemic circulation. Ventricular fibrillation is a sudden lethal arrhythmia responsible for many deaths in the Western world, and it is mostly caused by ischemic heart disease. While most episodes occur in diseased hearts, others can afflict normal hearts as well.
Despite considerable research, the underlying nature of ventricular fibrillation is still not completely understood.
Read more about this topic: Ventricular Fibrillation
Famous quotes containing the words signs and, signs and/or symptoms:
“For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles...”
—Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 1:22-3.
“One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
“Protest, evasion, merry distrust, and a delight in mockery are symptoms of health: everything unconditional belongs in pathology.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)