Patterns of activation of electrically induced ventricular fibrillation (VF) were studied with computerized mapping techniques. The results showed that each of C.J. Wiggers' (1940) four stages of VF was accomplished by an electrical correlate: reentry at the stimulus site, multiple wavelets traversing large regions with similar cycle lengths, multiple wavelets confined to fixed regions with different cycle lengths, and asynchronous electrical activity becoming intermittent. A transmural gradient of activation rate was demonstrated at the third and fourth stages of VF.
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