Final answer:
Ventricular fibrillation is a severe arrhythmia where the heart beats rapidly and irregularly, making it ineffective at pumping blood and requiring immediate treatment with an AED for any chance of survival.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ventricular fibrillation is a critical and life-threatening heart arrhythmia characterized by rapid and irregular heartbeats that originate in the ventricles, which are the lower chambers of the heart. This chaotic rhythm prevents the heart from pumping blood effectively, leading to a state of medical emergency often termed as 'code blue' in hospital settings. Immediate medical attention is essential, and the most common treatment is defibrillation, which delivers an electrical shock to the heart in an attempt to reset the heart's normal rhythm and allow the sinoatrial (SA) node to re-initiate a proper conduction cycle.
Without prompt treatment, ventricular fibrillation can lead to brain death in a matter of minutes due to lack of blood flow. Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are used in such emergencies; they provide verbal instructions for easy use by the general public, particularly in high-traffic areas such as schools and airports.