[Long-term prognosis (survival) of myocardial infarct patients after clinical death as a result of ventricular fibrillation (results of a 16-year study)].

The occurrence of primary ventricular fibrillation in the acute period of myocardial infarction has little if any effect on the late survival rate of either the entire group of patients or different age subgroups. The primary fibrillation of the ventricle has no effect on the survival of patients with the first and recurrent myocardial infarction who have had repeated episodes of clinical death. The survival rate of patients resuscitated in the hospital does not differ from that seen in patients resuscitated at the pre-hospital stage. The secondary ventricular fibrillation reduces survival very markedly. Recent years have seen an increase in the survival rate following ventricular fibrillation.