Using Double Sequential Defibrillation to Help Cardiac Arrest Patients

The concept of double sequential defibrillation shocks was initially described in animal literature in a mid-1980s article presented in the Journal of American Cardiology. Using a canine model, investigators delivered single, double and triple exponential shocks to hearts in which v fib and myocardial infarction had been induced. The shocks were delivered one second apart and employed different vectors (i.e., pathways) across the heart. The researchers determined that "two sequential shocks over different pathways reduce both total energy and peak voltage required to terminate ventricular fibrillation." Thus, both sequential shocks and multiple vectors help to reduce the v fib threshold and therefore terminate the arrhythmia.

Source: JEMS