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Principal Investigator: Dr. Anna Gelzer
Contact Information: Email: arg9@cornell.edu - Phone: 3-4387
Sponsor: American Heart Association-Northeast Affiliate
Title: Dynamic Mechanism of Induction of Ventricular Fibrillation
Annual Direct Cost: $60,000
Project Period: 7/1/04-6/30/07
This study evaluates a disturbance of the normal heart rhythm, known as ventricular fibrillation, that is initiated by a series of abnormal heart beats. As a result of this rhythm disturbance, the heart muscle cannot pump blood to the body and within minutes the brain and body suffers irreversible damage and death ensues. This rhythm disturbance does not stop on its own and is therefore always fatal. It can occur suddenly in people with no known history of heart disease, but people that have coronary heart disease or have survived a heart attack previously are at an even higher risk, due to the presence of scars or abnormal heart muscle. The only way to save somebody afflicted with this terrible rhythm is by administering an electric shock to the body (defibrillation) immediately. This can be done with paddles, applied to the chest from the outside or with implantable pacemaker-defibrillators. We are interested in studying the mechanisms that lead to this fatal arrhythmia, in order to learn how to prevent it from happening.
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