A STUDY OF PARAMETERS INVOLVED IN ALTERNATING-CURRENT DEFIBRILLATION

The findings from the research reported in this paper may be summarized as follows: Cardiac defibrillation is an electric current oriented phenomenon. There is a preferred cardiac axis for effective defibrillation. The cardiac preferred axis cannot be related easily to body surface electrode placement. More effective methods of defibrillation involve the use of endoesophageal or endotracheal electrodes rather than two body surface electrodes. Impedance measurements of the thoracic region and the heart indicate that low frequency alternating current is probably the most effective defibrillating stimulus. While direct current is effective, there is a greater risk of electrolysis than with alternating current. © 1969 International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering.