ventricular fibrillation
1
7.8
- noun
- /vɛnˈtrɪkjələr ˌfɪbrɪˈleɪʃən/
- Specialized
:
fibrilación ventricular
- He suffered an acute myocardial infarction... that was complicated by ventricular fibrillation.
- heart rhythm
- ventricular fibrillation causes the heart
Examples
-
The most common underlying cause of sudden cardiac arrest is an abrupt disorganization of the heart's rhythm, called ventricular fibrillation.
Academic text (2007) -
Ventricular fibrillation causes the heart's major pumping chambers (the ventricles) to undulate like a bag of worms.
Fiction book (1994) -
Then the heart went into ventricular fibrillation.
Fiction book (1994) -
In the first 10 months, 14 cardiac arrests occurred, with 12 of the 14 victims in ventricular fibrillation.
Academic text (2007) -
Uncorrected, ventricular fibrillation leads to brain death in about four minutes.
Fiction book (1994) -
Ventricular fibrillation must be corrected immediately with electric shock therapy.
Academic text (1998) -
She quickly enters his room to find him unconscious and in ventricular fibrillation.
Academic text (2007) -
This situation can lead to a potentially fatal condition called ventricular fibrillation, in which the heart quivers rapidly instead of pumping blood.
Academic text (1998) -
Mr. Cartney now has the most chaotic of all cardiac rhythms, ventricular fibrillation.
Fiction book (1994) -
During a medical emergency, the patient was found to be experiencing ventricular fibrillation, requiring immediate defibrillation.
Synonyms
9
7.9
Muscles contract quickly and without a normal rhythm
5
5.1
An irregular heartbeat that is too fast or too slow
An uneven beating of the heart that is not steady
How Regular
- Specialized
7
3.0
- Specialized
- Specialized
28
7.4
- Specialized
1
7.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term is directly compositional: 'ventricular' specifies the location (the ventricles) and 'fibrillation' denotes chaotic, uncoordinated contractions, so combined they mean chaotic contractions of the ventricles. While both words are medical and may be unfamiliar to a typical B1 learner, if the learner knows the constituent meanings the overall sense is predictable and follows standard modifier+noun composition.
Etymology
Ventricular fibrillation describes a clear picture: the heart's lower parts, the ventricles, begin to twitch like loose fibers, which is why doctors call the shaking 'fibrillation'. So, it means a dangerous, irregular heartbeat that can make the heart 'stop'.