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Biomedical subjects

M B Sweeney

Publications and source records attributed to M B Sweeney.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Sequential pulse internal defibrillation: is there an advantage to "switched" current pathways?

Sequential pulse internal defibrillation delivered via orthogonal current pathways has been postulated to improve defibrillation efficacy. The efficacy of twin truncated exponential sequential shocks was compared in four different defibrillation electrode configurations in six pentobarbital-anesthetized, open-chest dogs. Lead systems consisted of the conventional single current pathway spring-patch and patch-patch electrode configurations, as well as a multiple patch lead configuration, which utilized either a single (multiple patch-unswitched) or two different (multiple patch-switched) current pathways. Curves of percent successful defibrillation versus initial voltage and energy were constructed and the data were analyzed by logistic regression. The energy and initial voltage required for 50% successful defibrillation (E50 and V50, respectively) for each lead system were then compared. The E50 for the multiple patch-unswitched and switched lead systems (4.3 +/- 1.5 J and 4.6 +/- 1.7 J, respectively) were significantly lower than for the spring-patch (9.0 +/- 3.1 J; p less than .005) and patch-patch (6.6 +/- 1.2 J; p less than .005) lead systems. In addition, the V50 for the multiple patch-unswitched lead configuration (270.6 +/- 48.4 V) was significantly lower than that of all other lead systems (p less than .005). Therefore lead configurations utilizing multiple patch electrodes improve defibrillation efficacy over conventional lead systems, but there is no advantage to "switched" current pathways.

Animals↗

Improved internal defibrillation efficacy with a biphasic waveform.

Clinically available automatic implantable defibrillators use a monophasic truncated exponential waveform shock; after delivery the charge remaining on the device's capacitors is "dumped" internally and wasted. The efficacy of a monophasic and biphasic truncated exponential defibrillation waveform produced by a single capacitor discharge was compared in seven closed-chest, pentobarbital-anesthetized dogs. Defibrillation leads consisted of a new deployable intrapericardial electrode system. The monophasic waveform was positive and 6 msec in duration. The biphasic waveform had a positive phase identical to that of the monophasic waveform and a negative phase of equal duration with its initial voltage equal to 50% of the final voltage of the positive phase. Defibrillation shocks of varying initial voltage were delivered to construct curves of the percentage of successful defibrillation versus initial voltage and delivered energy, and the voltage and energy required for 50% (V50 and E50, respectively) and 80% (V80 and E80, respectively) success were compared. The biphasic waveform had significantly lower initial voltage (V50: 194 +/- 48 volts vs 227 +/- 48 volts, p less than 0.001; V80: 217 +/- 55 volts vs 256 +/- 66 volts, p less than 0.02) and energy (E50: 2.7 +/- 1.3 joules vs 3.4 +/- 1.5 joules, p less than 0.01; E80: 3.4 +/- 1.6 joules vs 4.3 +/- 2.2 joules, p less than 0.05) requirements than the monophasic waveform. It is concluded that a biphasic waveform produced by a single discharge that uses the "free" energy remaining on the capacitors significantly reduces the initial voltage and energy requirements for successful defibrillation and may improve the efficacy of future automatic implantable defibrillators.

Animals↗

Activation during ventricular defibrillation in open-chest dogs. Evidence of complete cessation and regeneration of ventricular fibrillation after unsuccessful shocks.

To test the hypothesis that a defibrillation shock is unsuccessful because it fails to annihilate activation fronts within a critical mass of myocardium, we recorded epicardial and transmural activation in 11 open-chest dogs during electrically induced ventricular fibrillation (VF). Shocks of 1-30 J were delivered through defibrillation electrodes on the left ventricular apex and right atrium. Simultaneous recordings were made from septal, intramural, and epicardial electrodes in various combinations. Immediately after all 104 unsuccessful and 116 successful defibrillation shocks, an isoelectric interval much longer than that observed during preshock VF occurred. During this time no epicardial, septal, or intramural activations were observed. This isoelectric window averaged 64 +/- 22 ms after unsuccessful defibrillation and 339 +/- 292 ms after successful defibrillation (P less than 0.02). After the isoelectric window of unsuccessful shocks, earliest activation was recorded from the base of the ventricles, which was the area farthest from the apical defibrillation electrode. Activation was synchronized for one or two cycles following unsuccessful shocks, after which VF regenerated. Thus, after both successful and unsuccessful defibrillation with epicardial shocks of greater than or equal to 1 J, an isoelectric window occurs during which no activation fronts are present; the postshock isoelectric window is shorter for unsuccessful than for successful defibrillation; unsuccessful shocks transiently synchronize activation before fibrillation regenerates; activation leading to the regeneration of VF after the isoelectric window for unsuccessful shocks originates in areas away from the defibrillation electrodes. The isoelectric window does not support the hypothesis that defibrillation fails solely because activation fronts are not halted within a critical mass of myocardium. Rather, unsuccessful epicardial shocks of greater than or equal to 1 J halt all activation fronts after which VF regenerates.

Animals↗

Discrimination of supraventricular tachycardia from sinus tachycardia of overlapping cycle length.

For more than 15 years, pulse generators (PG) have been implanted for the control of tachyarrhythmias. Manually activated systems have not achieved wide acceptance, mainly because of the need for direct patient participation. Automatic antitachycardia PGs have been limited by lack of flexibility of programmable parameters and the inability to discriminate pace-terminable tachycardias from sinus tachycardia. New algorithms for differentiating these tachycardias are becoming available. In addition to high rate detection criteria, there are three additional criteria that might characterize the tachycardias: (1) sudden onset, (2) rate stability, (3) sustained high rate. Future antitachycardia pacing systems will be able to employ even more elaborate algorithms when more sophisticated microprocessor capabilities and new sensors become available.

Atrioventricular Node↗