Do high-voltage, low-capacitance electrical discharges cause ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest in dogs?
High-voltage, low-capacitance electrical discharges up to 40 kilovolts did not induce ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest in a canine model.
Reported are the results on animals of 520 discharges from capacitors ranging in size from 250 to 3000 micro-microfarads, charged to voltages of 1 to 40 kilovolts. These discharges were sent through the animals at various instants in the heart cycle, and in most cases the current path was from foreleg to hind leg (analogous to the path from hand to foot). The time constant (RC) of the discharges also was varied by inserting resistances in the discharge circuit. None of these discharges produced ventricular fibrillation, cardiac arrest, or any other untoward effect which could be detected by the methods used. While it is impossible to accurately predict the human response to similar electric shocks, it seems probable that the same conclusion applies to adult man.
Kouwenhoven et al. (Tue,) studied this question.