Effect of cardiogenic pulmonary edema on defibrillation efficacy

Cardiogenic pulmonary edema is a common concomitant of heart failure. Clinical studies have shown that patients with heart failure have elevated defibrillation thresholds, but the underlying mechanism is still largely not understood. By aid of an anatomically realistic finite difference model of the thorax, this study aims to explore whether cardiogenic pulmonary edema could be a possible factor contributing to defibrillation threshold elevation. Simulation results demonstrate that defibrillation efficacy is compromised as pulmonary edema progresses.