Ventricular fibrillation. A possible mechanism of sudden death in patients and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

A case of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome associated with ventricular fibrillation is presented. The control of recurrent ventricular fibrillation with large doses of digitalis and other antiarrhythmic drugs, including propranolol, lidocaine, procainamide, and quinidine, is discussed. As far as we can determine, this is the first human case in which the precise onset of ventricular fibrillation was documented. Possible mechanisms are presented that may produce ventricular fibrillation in patients with WolffParkinson-White syndrome associated with atrial flutter or fibrillation.