Life Threatening Arrhythmias

50 million people in the United States die every year of cardiac sudden death. Only 1/3 of patients survive to the hospital. About 10% leave the hospital.

These life threatening arrhythmias can be ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation or asystole. Ventricular tachycardia is when the lower pumping chamber of the heart beats too fast. This can degrade to ventricular fibrillation, which is disorganized electrical activity in the lower pumping chamber that does not pump blood to the body very well. Finally, asystole is when the heart is not pumping at all.

One of the risks for cardiac sudden death, is when the main pumping chamber of the heart does not work well. There are some studies which show that placing implantable cardiac defibrillators can reduce the risk of sudden death in these patients.

Often a life threatening arrhythmia, ventricular tachycardia can be a precursor of death.