Dominant frequency bandwidth: an ECG indicator to predict defibrillation success

Some unidentified factors still affect the defibrillation. In the study, Domain frequency bandwidth (DomB) which reflects the spread of frequency content of the surface electrocardiographic (ECG) waveforms was investigated. Lead I, aVF and V/sub 1/ of the ECG from patients who underwent implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation were analyzed independently. VF waveforms of a total of 83 defibrillation trials were analyzed with steps consisting of application of downsampling, linear phase highpass filtering, and power spectral analysis. 3 seconds of VF waveform prior to the defibrillation shock was used. Statistical analysis was done to detect significant difference between successful and unsuccessful groups. The results showed that all DomBs were significantly smaller for the successful group, and the total power have not significantly difference. DomB values are associated with defibrillation outcome. DomB reflects frequency content spread and is associated with the number and size of wavefronts, thus the organization level of the heart.