In such cases, defibrillation may be considered if the patient is not responding to CPR and other resuscitative measures. However, in some cases, PEA may occur as a result of an underlying shockable rhythm such as VF or VT that has deteriorated into PEA. In these cases, identifying primary causation, performing good CPR, and administering epinephrine are the only tools you have to resuscitate the patient. Defibrillation is a medical treatment that delivers an electrical shock to the heart to restore its normal rhythm in certain types of cardiac arrest, such as ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT). Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA) in Cardiac Arrest of Animals The ECG tracing can be normal or show an arrhythmia (commonly a bradyarrhythmia of ventricular or supraventricular origin), but the heart has no mechanical activity associated with the electrical activity: no contractions, no cardiac output, and subsequently, no pulses. Rhythms that are not amenable to shock include pulseless electrical activity (PEA) and asystole. This is because the heart’s electrical activity in PEA is usually too weak or disorganized to respond to defibrillation. Generally, a PEA (Pulseless Electrical Activity) arrest is not considered a shockable rhythm. Immediate medical intervention is required to try and restore the heart’s normal function and maintain blood flow to the body’s vital organs. Various factors, such as heart attack, respiratory failure, electrolyte imbalances, and drug overdose, can cause PEA arrest. The only known effective treatment for Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA) is reversal of the cause.

This means that although the heart generates electrical signals, it does not effectively pump blood to the body’s vital organs.

A “Pulseless Electrical Activity” (PEA) arrest is a type of cardiac arrest where the heart’s electrical activity is present, but there is no detectable pulse or blood pressure.

Pulseless electrical activity treatment