pubmed:abstractText |
Drugs that prolong cardiac refractoriness can decrease defibrillation energy requirements. In particular, barium, a relatively selective blocker of cardiac Ik1 channels, produces marked decreases in defibrillation energy. The mechanism of this effect is unknown, and may relate to modulation of the effect of defibrillatory shocks, or an alteration of the pattern of ventricular fibrillation (VF) by the drug.
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