Left untreated, ventricular fibrillation is rapidly fatal as the vital organs of the body, including the heart, are starved of oxygen, and as a result patients in this rhythm will not be conscious or responsive to stimuli. Prior to cardiac arrest, patients may complain of varying symptoms depending on the underlying cause. Patients may exhibit signs of agonal breathing, which to a layperson can look like normal spontaneous breathing, but is a sign of hypoperfusion of the brainstem.It has an appearance on electrocardiography of irregular electrical activity with no discernable pattern. It may be described as coarse or fine depending on its amplitude, or as progressing from coarse to fine V-fib. Coarse V-fib may be more responsive to defibrillation, while fine V-fib can mimic the appearance of asystole on a defibrillator or cardiac monitor set to a low gain. Some clinicians may attempt to defibrillate fine V-fib in the hope that it can be reverted to a cardiac rhythm compatible with life, whereas others will deliver CPR and sometimes drugs as described in the advanced cardiac life support protocols in an attempt to increase its amplitude and the odds of successful defibrillation. Causes
Ventricular fibrillation has been described as "chaotic asynchronous fractionated activity of the heart" (Moe et al. 1964).
History
Like many other 19th century medical terms which lost precise meaning as they gained wider currency, "midget" as a term for someone with severe proportional shortness acquired pejorative connotations and is no longer used in a medical context.Notable modern pop cultural figures with growth hormone deficiency include actor and comedian Andy Milonakis, who has the appearance and voice of an adolescent boy despite being in his 40s. Argentine footballer Lionel Messi was diagnosed at age 10 with growth hormone deficiency and was subsequently treated. See also
Hypothalamic–pituitary–somatic axis

References
External links
Am Assoc Clinical Endocrinologists - practice guidelines and recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of GH deficiency, reflecting standard practice among U.S. endocrinologists