The human body is made up of numerous tissues, organs, trillions and millions of cells, and many other components. Different body organs perform different functions and help in proper functioning.
The brain controls the overall activity of the body, the nervous system controls all the sensory activity of the body, and the heart helps pump pure blood and transfer it into every part. Any dysfunction or disorder results in the improper functioning of the body part.
Key Takeaways
- Ventricular Tachycardia is a rapid heart rhythm that starts in the ventricles, while Ventricular Fibrillation is a disorganized electrical activity in the heart.
- Ventricular Tachycardia can last longer than Ventricular Fibrillation.
- Ventricular Fibrillation is more severe and can be life-threatening if not treated immediately.
Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach) vs Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib)
V-tach is a rapid heart rhythm that can be sustained or nonsustained, and can cause symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath, and dizziness. V-fib is a chaotic and irregular heart rhythm that can prevent blood from being pumped effectively, leading to cardiac arrest and sudden death.
Ventricular Tachycardia is also known as short-term V-tach or VT. It is a heart disorder related to the heart’s irregular beating, also known as ‘arrhythmia’.
The ventricle of the heart receives irregular heart impulses, which result in an irregular heartbeat of the body. Eventually, the heart beats at a normal pace of 60 to 100 times in 1 minute, but because of the disorder, the human heart starts beating at a pace of 100 times and more in a minute, and due to this, the ventricles is not able to fill the chamber with blood.
Ventricular Fibrillation is also known as the convenient short-term (V-fib). It is also one of the heart disorders related to the irregular beating of the heart.
In medical terms, this disorder of irregular heartbeat is known as ‘arrhythmia’. In this disorder, the heart’s lower chambers (or the ventricles) beats unnecessarily, resulting in the improper pumping of blood to other parts of the body.
Comparison Table
Parameters of Comparison | Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach) | Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib) |
---|---|---|
Definition | Heartbeat is abnormal but in regular intervals | Heartbeat is abnormal with irregular intervals |
Symptoms | Stress, anxiety, palpitations, flopping in the chest, fainting, and many others | Fainting, low blood pressure, nausea, chest pain, and many others |
QRS Complex | Regular | Irregular or not visible |
Treatment | Cardioversion, anti-arrhythmic drugs, and many other | CPR, AED, arrhythmia medications |
Frequency | Approximate 7% of people results in cardiac arrest | Approximate 10% of people result in cardiac arrest |
Heartbeat per minute | 200 beats | 300-350 beats |
Diagnosis | ECG, MRI, and transoesophageal echocardiography | ECG, Blood tests, MRI, CT scan, Chest X-ray, Angiogram, and Echocardiogram |
Appearance | Narrow complex | It can’t be differentiated further |
What is Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach)?
Ventricular Tachycardia is a heart condition in which the heart of the individual beats abnormally. And this abnormality of the heart leads the heart’s lower chambers (the ventricles) not to fill the blood in their respective chambers.
In medical terms, the irregular beating of the heart is known as ‘arrhythmia’ or ‘dysrhythmia’. A healthy human heart will beat around 60 to 100 times within a minute or, on average, 72 times.
But in this condition, the capacity of the heartbeat grows up to 100 times to more than it. Thus, the irregularity or chaos leads to the insufficient blood supply to other body parts.
Some of the major symptoms of the disorder are – the uneven increase in stress level, anxiety, faintness, flopping chest pain, palpitations, etc. The disorder is not normally diagnosed because even in the ECG, the QRS Complex seems to be normal.
Although there are other methods of diagnosis, they are MRI and Transoesophageal echocardiography.
What is Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib)?
Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib) is a heart condition in which the heart receives abnormal signals leading to the abnormal behaviour of the heart’s lower chamber. The lower chambers or the ventricles beat unnecessarily, and this activity results in the insufficient pumping of the blood to different other body parts.
This condition requires immediate attention because it is one of the reasons for major cardiac arrests suffered by individuals. The common symptoms shown by the body for the disorder are – fainting, low blood pressure, nausea, chest pain, and many others.
The condition requires immediate first aid or treatment by the Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) technique. The other treatment for the condition is the AED – Automated External Defibrillator and Arrhythmia medications.
Main Differences Between Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach) and Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib)
- Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach) is the disorder in which the heartbeat of the individual is abnormal but occurs at regular intervals, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib) is the disorder in which the heartbeat of the individual is abnormal with abnormality in the interval.
- Some of the symptoms of Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach) are – stress, anxiety, palpitations, flopping in the chest, fainting, and many others, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, some of the symptoms of Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib) are – fainting, low blood pressure, nausea, chest pain, and many others.
- The QRS complex of Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach) appears to be normal or regular, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, the QRS complex of Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib) appears to be irregular or not visible.
- Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach) can be treated by cardioversion, anti-arrhythmic drugs, and many other medications and processes, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib) can be treated by CPR, AED, arrhythmia medications, and many other medications and processes.
- The frequency of cardiac arrest suffered by the individual is 7%, whereas comparatively, the frequency of cardiac arrest suffered by the individual is 10%.
- In Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach), the heart beats around 200 times within a minute, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, during Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib), the heart beats around 300-350 times within a minute.
- ECG and MRI can diagnose Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach) condition, and transoesophageal echocardiography, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, Ventricular Fibrillation (V-fib) condition can be diagnosed by ECG, Blood tests, MRI, CT scan, Chest X-ray, Angiogram, and Echocardiogram.
- Ventricular Tachycardia is narrow and complex, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, Ventricular Fibrillation cannot be distinguished any further.