Frequency analysis of self-terminating ventricular fibrillation

Self-terminating ventricular fibrillation (VF) is unusual and poorly characterized. The aims of this study were firstly to compared the ECG spectral features of sustained and self-terminating VT, and secondly to identify and features which precede self-termination. Twenty recordings of self-terminating VT (mean duration 10.7 s range 6-50 s) and thirty recordings of sustained VF (mean duration 57 s, range 24-160 s) were obtained from Coronary Care Unit patients. The spectra of a 1 s epochs was estimated using the VF algorithm. The center frequency and size of the dominant spectral peak was calculated for each 1 s epoch. At the onset of both sustained and self-terminating VF, both peak size and dominant frequency increases significantly. Self-termination was preceded by a decrease in both dominant frequency and peak size. The study shows that substained and self-terminating VF share similar ECG features at onset, and that self-terminating is preceded by a slowing down of the arrhythmia.<>