 Sudden cardiac death SCD claims approximately 250,000 persons annually in the United States. Ventricular fibrillation VF or pulseless ventricular tachycardia pVT appear to be responsible for 25-35 of all out of hospital episodes of sudden cardiac death. The reported average survival to hospital discharge following in-hospital arrest is just as poor at approximately 14-17 despite the development of widespread implementation of basic and advanced cardiac life support. Current American Heart Association AHA guidelines recommend prompt electrical defibrillation to reestablish organized electrical activity. Increasing duration of VF i.e. shock resistant VF can result in two major adverse effects. First, an increased duration can reduce the ability to terminate the arrhythmia8. Second, if VF continues for more than four minutes, there is irreversible damage to the central nervous system and other organs. Despite aggressive efforts, successful resuscitation from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest occurs in only one third of patients and only about 10 of all patients are ultimately discharged from the hospital, many of whom are neurologically impaired. Also, the outcome of patients who suffer an in-hospital cardiac arrest is poor with reported survival to hospital discharge rates of 10-15. Thus, despite improvements and advances in the treatment of heart disease, the outcome of patients experiencing SCD remains poor. 