The significance of intraoperative ventricular fibrillation during aortic valve replacement

The effect of the spontaneous occurrence of ventricular fibrillation during aortic valve replacement and coronary arterial perfusion was studied in a consecutive series of 361 such operations. All operations were performed in a standard manner before 1972. One fourth of the patients experienced ventricular fibrillation,and the early mortality rate of this group was significantly (p less than 0.005) higher 7.3 per cent) than in the nonfibrillating group (1.5 per cent). The total mortality rate was 3 per cent. However, late results among survivors of the operations showed no effect of fibrillation. These findings indicate that ventricular fibrillation should be avoided in these patients. Whether or not countershock is advisable if and when fibrillation occurs remains an unanswered question.