Prolonged (63 minutes) Ventricular Fibrillation, Followed by Unusual Cardiogenic Shock

In this study, 5% of VF arrest was due to PE: V fib is initial rhythm in PE in 3 of 60 cases.  On the other hand, if the presenting rhythm is PEA, then pulmonary embolism is likely.  When there is VF in PE, it is not the initial rhythm, but occurs after prolonged PEA renders the myocardium ischemic.--Another study by Courtney and Kline found that, of cases of arrest that had autopsy and found that a presenting rhythm of VF/VT had an odds ratio of 0.02 for massive pulmonary embolism as the etiology, vs 41.9 for PEA.        

Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - September 19, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs