Is the body shaking when being electrocuted ventricular fibrillation?

This is the 4624th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

That day, a patient walked into the clinic quickly and said anxiously, "Doctor, please check my heart quickly. I just got an electric shock and I have ventricular fibrillation!" I asked him: How many volts? Are you unconscious? How do you know you have ventricular fibrillation?" He replied, "220 volts, no coma. I couldn't get rid of the wire at the time, and I was shaking all the time. I broke free and lay down to rest for a while, but I still felt uncomfortable." I smiled and said, if you really have ventricular fibrillation, we may not meet each other!

What is ventricular fibrillation? The heart has 4 rooms, 2 chambers and 2 chambers (left and right atrium, left and right ventricle). The door between the atrium and ventricle is called the atrioventricular valve. There is also a "housekeeper" on the "roof" who gives orders, called the sinoatrial node, which directs the orderly work of each link of the heart to form a normal heartbeat and pulse. Problems in each link may affect the functional activities of the heart. Ventricular fibrillation, also known as ventricular fibrillation, refers to the rapid and uncoordinated tremor of the ventricle, which is a serious arrhythmia. It can cause the heart to not work properly, causing ischemia and hypoxia of tissues and organs, and endangering life. Ventricular fibrillation after electric shock may cause loss of consciousness, respiratory and cardiac arrest, and may also cause other serious complications. Various organs such as the heart, lungs, brain, liver, and kidneys may be damaged one after another. Therefore, once ventricular fibrillation occurs, you should go to the doctor immediately and use an AED (defibrillator) for defibrillation if conditions permit. If the injured person stops breathing and cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be performed on the spot first. This is why we say that if the patient really has ventricular fibrillation, we may not see him again. The patient was urgently checked for electrocardiogram and myocardial enzyme spectrum (a clinical indicator of myocardial cell damage), which showed that the normal electrocardiogram and myocardial enzyme index were slightly elevated, indicating an increase in stress after the electric shock. Hearing that the indexes were relatively normal, the patient was relieved and told to go home and rest. If he felt any discomfort in his heart, he should go to the nearest cardiology department, and if he had difficulty breathing, he should go to the nearest respiratory department. So why does electric shock cause body tremors?

1. When an electric shock occurs, the current passing through the human body may cause excessive muscle contraction and increased nerve excitability, which may in turn cause body convulsions;

Second, when you are electrocuted, the current may pass through the brain, causing certain damage to nerve cells, causing abnormal brain discharges, and thus body convulsions;

3. When you get electric shock, the electric current may pass through the human blood vessels and cause vascular spasm, which may cause blood circulation disorders, muscle ischemia and hypoxia, and then body convulsions.

This worker is a senior electrician with more than 20 years of experience. He only knew that a colleague died of ventricular fibrillation after electric shock, but he didn't know what ventricular fibrillation is. In life and work, we should not only enhance our awareness of self-protection and mutual protection, but also master some basic knowledge of first aid after electric shock. The first thing is to help the injured disconnect from the power source. If dizziness, palpitations, chest tightness, pale face, limb weakness and other symptoms occur, seek medical treatment in time. If coma occurs, breathing and heartbeat disappear, emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation is required, and call 120 emergency number.

Author: Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Shanghai Electric Power Hospital

Guo YufengChief Physician