Why the study?
Does a chest thump convert ventricular fibrillation to sinus rhythm?
Does a chest thump convert ventricular fibrillation to sinus rhythm?
This case report provides the first documented evidence that a chest thump can successfully terminate ventricular fibrillation.
Single case of chest thump in VF; hypothesis-generating and should not change resuscitation practice.
A 41-year-old man with a surgically closed atrial septal defect presented with anginalike symptoms of 5 years duration. While undergoing coronary arteriorgraphy, the patient sustained ventricular fibrillation which was converted successfully to sinus rhythm by a chest thump. This is the first reported case of such conversion. The mechanism of mechanical conversion from ventricular tachycardia, or fibrillation, to sinus rhythm may be that the mechanical stimulus interrupts a re-entry pathway or depresses ectopic impulses to allow the normal sinoatrial rhythm to emerge.
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Bierfeld et al. (1979) studied this question.
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