Occurrence Of Arrhythmias In Patients Research Articles

Effect of long-term use of antipsychotics on the ventricular repolarization index

BackgroundThe risk of arrhythmia is usually assessed by the length of the corrected QT interval (QTc) when patients use antipsychotics. Prolonged QTc intervals are thought to increase the probability of malignant ventricular arrhythmias, and if we focus only on the QTc interval, we may be influenced by a single factor and make decisions that are not conducive to effective treatment. The index of cardiac electrophysiological balance (iCEB) is considered more valuable than the QTc for predicting drug-induced arrhythmias. It has been used in clinical practice, but no studies have observed changes in this index after the use of antipsychotics.ObjectiveTo investigate the changes in ventricular repolarization indices and the occurrence of arrhythmias in patients who have been using antipsychotic drugs for a long time, to compare the changes in iCEBc and QTc and to predict abnormal iCEBc values.MethodsPatients with schizophrenia who had been hospitalized for more than 4 years and who were receiving atypical antipsychotics underwent a 12-lead synchronized electrocardiogram (ECG) every 2–4 weeks. The baseline data were measured at admission, defined as the baseline (time0), and the most obvious abnormal changes in ventricular depolarization and repolarization measured every 12 months were one-year follow-up (time1), two-year follow-up (time2), three-year follow-up (time3), and four-year follow-up (time4). Repeated measures analysis of variance was used for comparisons. The types and doses of drugs taken at 5 time points were recorded and converted into chlorpromazine equivalents for comparison. The incidence of arrhythmia during the observation cycle was recorded.ResultsThe patients had been treated with antipsychotic medication for 4 years, and the duration of the QRS wave was longer in males than in females. TpTe, TpTe/QRS, TpTe/QT, TpTe/QTc, iCEB, and iCEBc increased significantly with hospital stay, while TpTe, TpTe/QRS, TpTe/QT, and TpTe/QTc exhibited more obvious changes in these indicators in female patients (P < 0.01). The changes in iCEB and iCEBc were more significant in males (P < 0.01). The incidences of arrhythmia (arrhythmic events included premature ventricular beats and premature atrial beats) within 5 time points were 2.5%, 6.25%, 6.25%, 6.25% and 5%, respectively. More than 90% of patients treated with antipsychotics did not have any arrhythmias. No TdP syncope or other cardiovascular symptoms were found in any of the patients.ConclusionAfter long-term use of antipsychotics, the ventricular repolarization index gradually increased with time. The new ventricular repolarization indices iCEB and iCEBc were more sensitive than the QTc at predicting arrhythmia. According to the abnormal QTc values in men and women, we predict that the abnormal value of the iCEBc in males is 4.528 and that in females is 5.315.

Twenty-four hour Holter ECG in normocalcemic and hypercalcemic patients with hyperparathyroidism.

To investigate the occurrence of arrhythmias in patients with normocalcemic (NC) primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) compared to both hypercalcemic PHPT patients and control subjects by means of 24-h Holter ECG. Thirteen NCPHPT postmenopausal patients were enrolled and age-matched with 13 hypercalcemic PHPT patients and 13 controls. Every subject underwent basal ECG, 24-h Holter ECG and mineral metabolism biochemical evaluation. PHPT patients had higher mean serum calcium levels compared to both NCPHPT and controls; there was no difference in mean serum calcium levels between NCPHPT and controls. Both NCPHPT and PHPT patients had significantly higher mean PTH levels compared with controls. There were no differences in ECG parameters between the three groups, except for QTc interval. PHPT patients had normal QTc interval values, but significantly shorter mean values compared with those of controls and NCPHPT patients. During 24-h Holter ECG recording, 100% of PHPT patients had supraventricular premature beats (SVPBs), compared to 46% of NCPHPT (p = 0.005) and to 53% of controls (p = 0.01). PHPT patients experienced ventricular premature beats (VPBs) (69.2%) vs 15% of NCPHPT patients (p = 0.01) and 23% of controls (p = 0.04). There was no difference between NCPHPT and controls subjects concerning occurrence of both VPBs and SVPBs. NCPHPT patients did not experience an increased occurrence of arrhythmias compared to controls, while PHPT patients showed an increased occurrence compared to both controls and NCPHPT. Our findings are most probably related to the short QTc interval caused by hypercalcemia observed in PHPT patients, but not in NCPHPT.

Mechanism of Ion Channel Impairment in the Occurrence of Arrhythmia in Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Sudden cardiac death is the most unpredictable and devastating consequence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, most often caused by persistent ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Although myocardial hypertrophy, fibrosis, and microvascular disorders are the main mechanisms of persistent reentrant ventricular arrhythmias in patients with advanced hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the cardiomyocyte mechanism based on ion channel abnormalities may play an important role in the early stages of the disease.

Arrhythmias after SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Patients with a Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device: A Multicenter Study.

One of the most concerning adverse events related to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is arrhythmia. To ascertain the relationship between vaccination and arrhythmic events, we studied the occurrence of arrhythmia in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) before and after a SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Patients with CIEDs aged ≥18 who visited the CIED clinic at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and Vajira hospital from August 2021 to February 2022 were included. Information about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and side effects was obtained. One hundred eighty patients were included in our study, which compared the incidence of arrhythmias in the 14 days post-vaccination to the 14 days before vaccination. The median age was 70 years. The number of patients who received one, two, and three doses of the vaccine was 180, 88, and 4, respectively. ChAdOx1 was the primary vaccine used in our institutes, accounting for 86% of vaccinations. The vaccination was significantly associated with a 73% increase incidence of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). In an adjusted model, factors associated with the incidence of SVT were the post-vaccination period, female sex, increasing BMI, chronic kidney disease, and a history of atrial fibrillation. Increased ventricular arrhythmia (VA) episodes were also associated with the post-vaccination period, female sex, decreasing BMI, and chronic kidney disease, but to a lesser degree than those with SVT episodes. No life-threatening arrhythmia was noted in this study. In conclusion, the incidence of arrhythmia in patients implanted with CIEDs was significantly increased after the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

In-hospital Outcomes and Arrhythmia Burden in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have an increased risk for arrhythmias compared to patients without OSA. However, data quantifying the risk of inpatient complications in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are lacking. We sought to compare inpatient outcomes and the occurrence of arrhythmias in patients with HFpEF with and without OSA, respectively. Furthermore, we compared the prevalence of arrhythmias with nocturnal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. We performed a retrospective study using the National Inpatient Sample from 2016–2018 to identify patients with HFpEF with and without OSA. Propensity score matching, adjusting for age, gender, race, hospital characteristics, income, and comorbidities, was used to select matched samples between both groups. From 2016–2018, 127,773 hospitalizations with HFpEF were identified; among these patients, 20% had OSA. Nocturnal CPAP was utilized in 9% of these patients. Patients with OSA had a higher mortality rate, a longer duration of hospitalization, and greater medical costs. In addition, OSA was associated with higher incidence rates of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, premature depolarization, sick sinus syndrome, ventricular tachycardia, and atrioventricular block. Nocturnal CPAP was not associated with a lower arrhythmia incidence; however, there was a non-significant trend toward a lower cardiac arrest incidence. In conclusion, OSA in patients with HFpEF was associated with greater mortality, longer hospitalization stays, and higher medical costs relative to findings in patients without OSA. Furthermore, OSA was associated with tachyarrhythmias and bradyarrhythmias in HFpEF patients. Nocturnal CPAP was only utilized in 9% of patients, with no difference in arrhythmogenesis.

Application of machine learning to predict the occurrence of arrhythmia after acute myocardial infarction

BackgroundEarly identification of the occurrence of arrhythmia in patients with acute myocardial infarction plays an essential role in clinical decision-making. The present study attempted to use machine learning (ML) methods to build predictive models of arrhythmia after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).MethodsA total of 2084 patients with acute myocardial infarction were enrolled in this study. (All data is available on Github: https://github.com/wangsuhuai/AMI-database1.git). The primary outcome is whether tachyarrhythmia occurred during admission containing atrial arrhythmia, ventricular arrhythmia, and supraventricular tachycardia. All data is randomly divided into a training set (80%) and an internal testing set (20%). Apply three machine learning algorithms: decision tree, random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN) to learn the training set to build a model, then use the testing set to evaluate the prediction performance, and compare it with the model built by the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk variable set.ResultsThree ML models predict the occurrence of tachyarrhythmias after AMI. After variable selection, the artificial neural network (ANN) model has reached the highest accuracy rate, which is better than the model constructed using the Grace variable set. After applying SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) to make the model interpretable, the most important features are abnormal wall motion, lesion location, bundle branch block, age, and heart rate. Among them, RBBB (odds ratio [OR]: 4.21; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.42–7.02), ≥ 2 ventricular walls motion abnormal (OR: 3.26; 95% CI: 2.01–4.36) and right coronary artery occlusion (OR: 3.00; 95% CI: 1.98–4.56) are significant factors related to arrhythmia after AMI.ConclusionsWe used advanced machine learning methods to build prediction models for tachyarrhythmia after AMI for the first time (especially the ANN model that has the best performance). The current study can supplement the current AMI risk score, provide a reliable evaluation method for the clinic, and broaden the new horizons of ML and clinical research.Trial registration Clinical Trial Registry No.: ChiCTR2100041960.

Illusion of coronary artery chronic total occlusion-associated ventricular arrhythmia: results from a multi-centre study

Abstract Background/Introduction Coronary artery chronic total occlusion (CTO) is frequently encountered in patients with established coronary artery disease (CAD) with a reported incidence of more than thirty percent in this population (1). A previous large single-centre study established CTO as an independent risk factor for occurrence of ventricular arrhythmia in patients with ICD and ischemic heart disease (2). The significance of CTO in all-comers has not been investigated. In this large retrospective data, it was analysed that there is no significant difference in ventricular arrhythmia occurrence in patients with CTO versus those with CAD and no CTO. Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the association between CTO and ventricular arrhythmia in patients with CAD using a pooled de-identified database. Methods This retrospective observational study used IBM Explorys, which is a pooled de-identified multi-institutional database of more than 60 million unique patients in the United States. A search was done to identify patients with CTO and those with CAD with the exclusion of CTO diagnosis. The data were analysed for ventricular tachycardia (VT) and/or ventricular fibrillation (VF) occurrence. The data were stratified by presence of systolic HF to identify possible effect modification. Statistical analysis was performed by calculating odds ratios (OR) with associated confidence intervals. Results Among the 190 patients with the diagnosis of CTO, 11.8% had VT/VF. Of the 2,796,600 patients with CAD and no CTO, 6.9% had VT/VF. The diagnosis of CTO was associated with an increased risk for VT/VF with OR 1.7143 (1.0786, 2.7247), p&amp;lt;0.05. Upon stratification by presence or absence of systolic HF, there was no statistically significant difference in occurrence of VT/VF in the two strata. In the systolic HF group, the OR was 1.4331 (0.6708, 3.0619), p=0.47; the no systolic HF group had OR 0.9717 (0.5123, 1.843), p=0.92. In patients with CAD, the diagnosis of systolic HF was associated with an increased risk of CTO with OR 2.5616 (1.7268, 3.7999), p&amp;lt;0.05. Conclusion Stratification by presence or absence of systolic HF yielded inconsistent and statistically insignificant odds ratios compared to the all-comers group, suggesting effect modification by HF with no statistically significant association between CTO and VT/VF. These findings from this large multicentre retrospective data suggest that CTO itself is not an independent risk factor for ventricular arrhythmia in patients with CAD. Limitations of this study include that it is a retrospective pooled analysis without individualised data on ejection fraction and the inability to distinguish if the CTO was infarct-related. Further prospective studies are needed to evaluate the significance of CTO in patients with CAD as it pertains to ventricular arrhythmia. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Factors Determining Occurrence of Arrhythmias in Patients Post-closure of Atrial Septal Defects.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the risk factors for the occurrence of arrhythmias after either transcatheter or surgical closure of atrial septal defect.MethodsThis prospective study included 150 patients admitted for transcatheter or surgical closure of atrial septal defect. Transthoracic echocardiography together with a twelve-leads ECG were done during 1 and 3 months follow up. The paired T, chi-square and Logistic regression tests were used to detect any association between any arrhythmias and factors that may affect its occurrence.ResultsOne-hundred and twenty-three patients had percutaneous device closure while the remaining 27 patients had surgical closure. The youngest and oldest of the studied patients being 3 & 50 years old respectively with female (108) over male (42) predominance in incidence. After closure, 8 patients at one month and another 3 patients at three months follow up out of the total 150 patients had supraventricular arrhythmias in the form of frequent premature atrial contractions (6 patients), atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (2 patients), and paroxysmal Atrial fibrillation (3 patients). No conduction abnormalities nor ventricular arrhythmias occurred. Multivariate analysis showed that age, P wave dispersion, systolic myocardial velocity of right ventricle, and systolic pulmonary artery pressure were independently associated with the occurrence of atrial arrhythmia after atrial septal defect repair.ConclusionAge, P wave dispersion, Systolic pulmonary artery pressure, and systolic myocardial velocity of the right ventricle are independent risk factors to develop arrythmias in patients after atrial septal defect closure.

A single-dose of stellate ganglion block for the prevention of postoperative dysrhythmias in patients undergoing thoracoscopic surgery for cancer: A randomised controlled double-blind trial.

New-onset arrhythmias and sleep disturbances are frequently observed during the postoperative period in patients undergoing thoracic surgery. We evaluated the effectiveness of a single-dose stellate ganglion block (SGB) to prevent the occurrence of arrhythmias in patients undergoing thoracic surgery for cancer. Randomised controlled double-blind study. Single university hospital. Ninety patients with lung cancer or oesophagal cancer scheduled for elective video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery were randomly randomised into one of two equal groups (the SGB group and control group, n = 40 each). Patients received a single dose of 5 ml of 0.5% ropivacaine during ultrasound-guided SGB before induction of general anaesthesia in the SGB group. Holter ECG was continuously monitored during the first 48 postoperative hours, and sleep state was monitored during the first two postoperative nights. The incidences of postoperative supraventricular tachycardias were lower in the SGB group compared with the control group during the first 48 postoperative hours; 11.6 (5/43) vs. 31.8% (14/44), respectively, P = 0.023 (odds ratio 0.28, 95% confidence interval 0.09 to 0.87). The SGB also prolonged the total sleep time and increased the sleep efficiency during the first two postoperative nights. The duration of stage N2 sleep was longer in the SGB group compared with the control group [28 (interquartile range, 14 to 58) to 94 (interquartile range, 69 to 113) min, P = 0.016] on the first postoperative night. There were no differences in the duration of stage N1 and N3 sleep (P = 0.180, 0.086, respectively) on the first postoperative night, and the duration of stage N1, N2 and N3 sleep (P = 0.194, 0.057, 0.405, respectively) on the second postoperative night between the groups. A pre-operative SGB effectively prevented the occurrence of postoperative supraventricular tachycardias and improves the objective sleep quality in patients undergoing thoracic surgery for cancer. ChiCTR-1900023064.

POSSIBILITIES OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING FORDIAGNOSTIC ETIOLOGIC FACTORS IN THE OCCURRENCE OF ARRHYTHMIASOF THE MILITARYS

Surveyed 652 patients with persistent violations of rhythm who applied to the cardiologist of the center of VMA during the 2 years. Of 652 patients was highlighted that some patients (543), in which the rhythm disturbance with daily monitoring Holter ECG were significant, that is, the number of ventricular and supraventricular extrasystoles exceeded the acceptable rate. These patients were divided into 3 groups to assess the frequency of ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias: Group 1: patients with a primary rhythm disturbance according to the type of ventricular arrhythmia — 96 people (80 men and 16 women). Their average age was 68 years (18–89). Group 2: patients with a primary rhythm disturbance according to the type of supraventricular extrasystole — 343 (271 male and 72 female). Their average age was 67 years (17–83). Group 3: patients with complex arrhythmias (supraventricular and ventricular premature beats) — 106 patients (94 male and 12 female). Their average age was 65 years (18–87). Compulsory medical examination for the patient included a complete medical examination with the filling of a formalized medical history; laboratory studies (clinical blood analysis, biochemical blood — potassium, sodium, magnesium, chlorine, glucose, lipid spectrum, creatinine, total protein, coagulation profile, thyroid hormones T3, T4, TTG); instrumental examinations (ECG, daily monitoring of Holter ECG, radiography of the chest, echocardiography). Identified possible etiologic factors in the occurrence of arrhythmias in patients. The main etiological factors of arrhythmia were: ischemic heart disease (IHD), arterial hypertension (AH), heart failure II–IV FC, the presence of sclerodermatineae acquired heart disease, cardiomyopathy, diabetes mellitus type II, thyroid disease (hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism), cancer, history of pulmonary embolism (PE), acute violations of cerebral circulation (cerebral vascular accident), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), family history of coronary heart disease, overweight, menopause. The main provoking factors according to the survey patients were: alcohol abuse and Smoking, daily repeated use of strong tea and coffee, psycho-emotional and physical stress, infectious diseases.48 surveyed (8,84%) did not identify any apparent cause arrhythmias. This group of patients underwent heart MRI for the purpose of clarifying the nature of the arrhythmias. In 32 patients performing MRI of the heart has allowed to establish probable cause rhythm disturbances, draws attention to the high frequency of detection of MR-signs of myocarditis (1⁄3 of the surveyed).

Predictive value of P-wave and QT interval dispersion in children with congenital heart disease and pulmonary arterial hypertension for the occurrence of arrhythmias

ObjectivesTo evaluate P-wave dispersion (PWD) and QT dispersion (QTd) in children with congenital heart disease and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH-CHD) and to investigate the predictive value of both PWD and QTd for prediction of arrhythmias in such children. Materials and methodsWe included 40 children with PAH-CHD as Group I. Forty other children with CHD and no PAH were included as Group II. Forty healthy children of matched age and sex served as a Control group. Electrocardiography was performed to determine PWD and QTd. Furthermore, 24-hour Holter monitoring was performed to detect the presence of arrhythmias. Echocardiographic evaluation was also performed. ResultsQTd and PWD were significantly higher in Group I than in Group II and Control group. A significant positive correlation was present between both QTd and PWD and mean pulmonary artery pressure, right ventricular diameter, pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), and PVR to systemic vascular resistance ratio. QTd showed 93% sensitivity, 80% specificity, and 85% accuracy for prediction of occurrence of arrhythmias in patients with PAH-CHD at a cutoff point of 61 ms, whereas PWD showed 87% sensitivity, 80% specificity, and 85% accuracy for prediction of arrhythmias at a cutoff point of 32.5 ms in such patients. Logistic regression analysis showed that both QTd and PWD were good predictors for the occurrence of arrhythmias in children with PAH-CHD (p = 0.003 and p = 0.01, respectively). ConclusionsPWD and QTd were good predictors for the occurrence of various arrhythmias in children with PAH-CHD.

Cholinesterase inhibition reduces arrhythmias in asymptomatic Chagas disease.

Parasympathetic dysfunction may play a role in the genesis of arrhythmias in Chagas disease. This study evaluates the acute effects of pyridostigmine (PYR), a reversible cholinesterase inhibitor, on the occurrence of arrhythmias in patients with Chagas cardiac disease. Following a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over protocol, 17 patients (age 50±2years) with Chagas cardiac disease type B underwent 24-hour Holter recordings after oral administration of either pyridostigmine bromide (45mg, 3times/day) or placebo (PLA). Pyridostigmine reduced the 24-hours incidence (median [25%-75%]) of premature ventricular beats-PLA: 2998 (1920-4870), PYR: 2359 (940-3253), P=.044; ventricular couplets-PLA: 84 (15-159), PYR: 33 (6-94), P=.046. Although the total number of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia in the entire group was not different (P=.19) between PLA (1 [0-8]) and PYR (0 [0-4]), there were fewer episodes under PYR in 72% of the patients presenting this type of arrhythmia (P=.033). Acute administration of pyridostigmine reduced the incidence of nonsustained ventricular arrhythmias in patients with Chagas cardiac disease. Further studies that address the use of pyridostigmine by patients with Chagas cardiac disease under a more prolonged follow-up are warranted.

Abstract 13479: New Heart, Old Arrhythmia: Atrial Arrhythmias After Orthotopic Heart Transplantation

Introduction: Arrhythmias after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) are common. However the influence of pre-transplant atrial arrhythmia on post-OHT atrial arrhythmia has not been established. In this study we analyzed the occurrence of post-OHT atrial arrhythmias in patients with prior atrial fibrillation or flutter (afib/flutter). Methods: In this retrospective single center study, 56 patients who underwent OHT from 2003-14 were enrolled. Patients were stratified based on history of pre-OHT afib/flutter. Baseline demographics, and post-transplant outcomes including atrial arrythmias were recorded. Post-OHT atrial arrhythmias were defined as afib/flutter, atrial tachycardia, multifocal atrial tachycardia, and wandering atrial pacemaker Data was analyzed using student’s t-test and X2 analysis. Results: The cohort comprised of 20 patients with pre-transplant history of afib/flutter and 36 patients without such diagnosis. There was no statistical difference in age, gender or BMI in patients between the two groups. Our analysis revealed that patients with afib/flutter prior to OHT had significantly more atrial arrhythmias at one year compared to those without afib/flutter (31.6% vs 8.8%, p=0.034), and this difference was maintained at five years follow-up (50% vs 11.1%, p=0.001). Additionally, there was a strong trend toward increased overall mortality in in this group (35% vs 13.9%, p=0.065). Discussion: Our results suggest a novel finding of a link between pre and post-OHT atrial arrhythmias, particularly in the first year after transplantation. This surprising finding may be related to residual recipient pulmonary vein activity, recipient atrial anastomotic tissue, or patient related factors. Further prospective research is indicated to confirm our findings.

Arrhythmias in primary hyperparathyroidism evaluated by exercise test

Hypercalcemia induces arrhythmias and shortening of QT. The aim of this study was to investigate risk factors for occurrence of arrhythmias in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) during bicycle ergometer exercise test (ET). Thirty PHPT postmenopausal women (mean age, 60·9±8·0years) and 30, sex and age-matched, controls underwent ET, echocardiogram and mineral metabolism biochemical evaluation. The following stages were considered during ET: rest, peak exercise, recovery (early recovery, 2 and 10min after peak exercise). QT was corrected with Bazett's formula (QTc). Compared with controls, PHPT patients showed an increased occurrence of ventricular premature beats (VPBs) during ET (26·6% vs. 6·6%, P=0·03). Being affected by PHPT predicted the onset of VPBs at peak exercise (P=0·04) and recovery (P=0·03), as shown by logistic regression analysis. In PHPT patients, serum calcium level was a predictor of VPBs at peak exercise (P=0·05). QTc in patients with PHPT was in the normal range. Serum calcium level showed a negative correlation with QTc (P=0·01) in whole sample. Compared with controls, PHTP patients had QTc significantly shorter for every stage of ET, except at peak exercise. Physiological reduction of QTc interval from rest to peak exercise was not seen in patients with PHPT, QTc at rest being the only predictor of QTc in every stage, as shown by multivariate regression analysis. In patients with PHPT, an increased occurrence of VPBs and a different QTc adaptation during ET were observed and may represent risk factors for major arrhythmias.

Occurrence of arrhythmia in patients with esophageal cancer during combined treatment

Objective To explore the characteristics and causes of arrhythmia in patients with esophageal cancer during combined treatment.Methods The clinical data on 300 patients with esophageal cancer who had been hospitalized at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from Jan 2007 to Dec 2010 and had developed arrhythmia during combined treatment were retrospectively analyzed.Results Sinus bradycardia occurred in 103 patients ( 34.33％ ),sinus tachycardia in 52 ( 17.33％ ),right bundle branch block in 32 ( 10.66％ ),premature beats in 28 ( 9.33％ ),atrial fibrillation in 18 ( 6.00％ ),left anterior division block in 18 ( 6.00％ ),ventricular premature beats in 17 ( 5.66％ ),atrial tachycardia in 13 ( 4.33％ ),atrioventricular block in 13 ( 4.33％ ),and ventricular parasystole in 3 ( 1.00％ ).Conclusions Non-ventricular arrhythmia was the common arrhythmia,of which sinus arrhythmias were the most common.The occurrence of arrhythmia in esophageal cancer patients during combined treatment may be associated with operation,chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Key words: Esophageal cancer; Combined treatment; Arrhythmia

Chiropractic care of a patient with thoracic outlet syndrome and arrhythmia

Objective The purpose of this article is to describe a case report and discuss a possible anatomical explanation of the occurrence of arrhythmias in patients with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). Clinical Features A 60-year-old man experienced arrhythmia when he turned his head to the left and had these symptoms for 7 years. The patient attributed his symptoms to TOS. The arrhythmia was triggered while performing an Adson test during the clinical evaluation. Intervention and Outcome The Grostic procedure as a measure of analysis of the biomechanical relationship of C1 to C0 and the lower cervical spine was performed. According to this analysis, the patient had a right laterality malposition of the atlas. High-velocity, low-amplitude manipulations (adjustments) were applied. The patient's symptoms improved after one visit and demonstrated resolution upon evaluation at the third visit. In the year following the initial presentation, he has had minor recurrent short-lived episodes of arrhythmia that abated with the atlas manipulation/adjustment. Conclusion There is a paucity of published reports describing the management of patients with arrhythmias through manipulative methods. This appears to be the first case that describes the successful amelioration of an arrhythmia associated with TOS using chiropractic adjustment of the atlas vertebra as the sole intervention.

Close connection between improvement in left ventricular function by cardiac resynchronization therapy and the incidence of arrhythmias in cardiac resynchronization therapy‐defibrillator patients

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between improved ejection fraction (EF) and occurrence of arrhythmias in patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy devices with defibrillator function (CRT-D). The hypothesis was that patients who experienced a marked improvement in EF also had fewer appropriate defibrillator interventions. We analysed data of 270 patients from 2 prospective registries with follow-up of ≥12 months and echocardiography performed ≥8 months after CRT-D implantation. The discriminator was whether left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) improved to >35% [cut-off for primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation]. Mean age was 61±11 years, LVEF 22±5%, and follow-up 40±22 months. Ischaemic cardiomyopathy was present in 48%, and secondary prevention indication was present in 25%. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator interventions were delivered to 35% of patients. Echocardiography (20±15 months after implantation) showed an improvement in LVEF from 22% (SD 5.4%) to 30% (SD 9.8%). Improvement to >35% was seen in 21% of patients. Those who improved to >35% had fewer ICD interventions than those who did not (23 vs.38%; P-value 0.03). Analysing only patients with a primary prevention indication and stratifying again in patients with and without improvement of LVEF to >35%, the latter had highly significant more ICD-therapies (6 vs. 31%; P-value 0.0008). Patients with CRT-D for primary prevention, whose LVEF improved to >35% during mid-term follow-up, are at low risk of first ICD therapies beyond year 1. If similar findings are reported in other patient cohorts, this might impact on decision-making at the time of battery depletion.

Polymorphisms associated with ventricular tachyarrhythmias: rationale, design, and endpoints of the 'diagnostic data influence on disease management and relation of genomics to ventricular tachyarrhythmias in implantable cardioverter/defibrillator patients (DISCOVERY)' study

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy is effective in primary and secondary prevention for patients who are at high risk of sudden cardiac death. However, the current risk stratification of patients who may benefit from this therapy is unsatisfactory. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are DNA sequence variations occurring when a single nucleotide in the genome differs among members of a species. A novel concept has emerged being that these common genetic variations might modify the susceptibility of a certain population to specific diseases. Thus, genetic factors may also modulate the risk for arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, and identification of common variants could help to better identify patients at risk. The DISCOVERY study is an interventional, longitudinal, prospective, multi-centre diagnostic study that will enrol 1287 patients in approximately 80 European centres. In the genetic part of the DISCOVERY study, candidate gene polymorphisms involved in coding of the G-protein subunits will be correlated with the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias in patients receiving an ICD for primary prevention. Furthermore, in order to search for additional sequence variants contributing to ventricular arrhythmias, a genome-wide association study will be conducted if sufficient a priori evidence can be gathered. In the second part of the study, associations of SNPs with ventricular arrhythmias will be sought and a search for potential new biological arrhythmic pathways will be investigated. As it is a diagnostic study, DISCOVERY will also investigate the impact of long-term device diagnostic data on the management of patients suffering from chronic cardiac disease as well as medical decisions made regarding their treatment.

191: Occurrence of Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients with a Continous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device (Heartmate II)

191: Occurrence of Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients with a Continous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device (Heartmate II)

Inducible ventricular flutter and fibrillation predict for arrhythmia occurrence in coronary artery disease patients presenting with syncope of unknown origin.

Ventricular fibrillation and ventricular flutter (cycle length < or = 230 msec) induced at electrophysiologic studies are thought to be nonspecific findings in patients presenting with syncope of unknown origin. However, there are limited data on the prognosis of these patients in long-term follow-up. We followed 274 consecutive patients with coronary artery disease presenting with syncope or presyncope who underwent electrophysiologic studies from January 1992 to June 1999 and assessed the risk of subsequent arrhythmias stratified by the electrophysiologic result at the time of their presentation with syncope. Ventricular fibrillation was induced in 23 patients (8%); ventricular flutter in 24 (9%), sustained ventricular tachycardia in 41 (15%); and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia 42 (15%). In 37 +/- 25 months of follow-up, there have been ventricular arrhythmias in 34 patients, including 3 (13%) of 23 who had induced ventricular fibrillation, and 7 (30%) of 24 with induced ventricular flutter, compared to 13 (32%) of 41 with sustained ventricular tachycardia, 7 (17%) of 42 with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, and only 4 (3%) of 144 noninducible patients (P < 0.001 for induced ventricular fibrillation and ventricular flutter vs noninducible patients). The inducibility of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular flutter were independent risk factors for arrhythmia occurrence in follow-up. Ventricular fibrillation and ventricular flutter induced at electrophysiologic studies have prognostic significance for arrhythmia occurrence in patients presenting with syncope. These induced arrhythmias may not be as nonspecific as previously thought and treatment should be considered for these patients.