Fourier analysis of ventricular fibrillation and synchronization of DC countershocks in defibrillation

Spectral analysis of the first 40 seconds of ventricular fibrillation confirmed the presence of a large periodic component in fibrillation, with a dominant frequency of 9.9 ± 0.7 Hz and a narrow bandwidth. To determine whether less energy was required for defibrillation at any particular phase of the ventricular fibrillation cycle, the authors studied the effect of synchronization of the countershock to the peaks and troughs of the ventricular fibrillation waveform in 12 dogs anesthetized with sodium pentobarbitone (35 mg/kg iv). There was no significant difference in threshold-delivered energy or threshold-delivered current between shocks synchronized to the peaks of ventricular fibrillation, shocks synchronized to the troughs of ventricular fibrillation, and unsynchronized shocks.