Fetal ECG: a novel predictor of atrioventricular block in anti-Ro positive pregnancies. (1/265)

OBJECTIVE: Approximately 2.8% of pregnancies are Ro/La antibody positive. 3-15% of fetuses develop complete heart block (CHB). First-degree atrioventricular heart block (1 degrees AVB) is reported in a third of Ro/La fetuses but as most have a normal postnatal ECG this may reflect inadequacies of Doppler measurement techniques. METHODS: Comparison was made between mechanical (mPR) and electrical (ePR) intervals obtained prospectively using Doppler and non-invasive fetal ECG (fECG) in 52 consecutive Ro/La pregnancies in 46 women carrying 54 fetuses in an observational study at a fetal medicine unit. 121 mPR and 37 ePR intervals were recorded in 49 Ro/La fetuses. Five were referred with CHB and excluded. ePR was measured successfully in 35/37 (94%) and mPR was measured in all cases. 1 degrees AVB was defined as PR >95% CI. Logistic regression predicted abnormal final fetal rhythm from first mPR or ePR. RESULTS: The ePR model gave 66.7% sensitivity (6 of 8 final abnormal fetal rhythm cases were predicted correctly in fetuses >20 weeks) and 96.2% specificity. mPR gave 44.4% sensitivity (4 of 9 cases) and 88.5% specificity. Z scores for ePR (zPR) were calculated from 199 normal fetuses. The area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.754 to 1.007). A cut-off of 1.65 gave a sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 95% for those with prolonged and normal ePR intervals, respectively. CONCLUSION: zPR is better than mPR at differentiating between normal and prolonged PR intervals, suggesting that fECG is the diagnostic tool of choice to investigate the natural history and therapy of conduction abnormalities in Ro/La pregnancies.  (+info)

Tachycardia after pacemaker implantation in a patient with complete atrioventricular block. (2/265)

The atrioventricular (AV) node allows ante- and retrograde conduction between atria and ventricles. It is commonly assumed that these AV nodal conduction properties go hand in hand. However, ante- and retrograde AV conduction can be completely independent from each other in individual patients. We report about a patient with permanent AV block III degrees requiring implantation of a pacemaker. As soon as a dual-chamber device was connected to the implanted leads, a tachycardia started at the maximum tracking rate, which was subsequently reprogrammed from 120 to 170 bpm. Non-invasive electrophysiologic testing showed that this patient demonstrated 1:1 ventriculoatrial (VA) conduction up to 170 bpm leading to endless loop tachycardia (ELT) while the antegrade AV block III degrees persisted. This case impressively illustrates that one has to take into account that patients with antegrade AV block III degrees may still have a high VA conduction capacity leading to ELT. Dual-chamber devices therefore have to be programmed accordingly, activating dedicated reactions after ventricular premature beats and automatic ELT detection and termination algorithms.  (+info)

Randomized comparison of bipolar vs unipolar plus bipolar recordings during atrioventricular junction ablation: importance and efficacy of unipolar recording. (3/265)

BACKGROUND: No prior studies have clarified the utility and efficacy of unipolar recording for identifying successful sites for atrioventricular junction (AVJ) ablation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-six patients underwent radiofrequency (RF) AVJ ablation for drug-resistant atrial fibrillation (AF) or AF/flutter. AVJ ablation was performed with either bipolar (Bi-group; n=18) or unipolar plus bipolar recording (Uni-group; n=18). In the Uni-group, the primary parameter used to select ablation sites was a QS or rS morphology of the His bundle unipolar recording. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups for the bipolar electrogram characteristics at the successful ablation site. However, in the Uni-group, the procedure time and fluoroscopy duration were shorter (both p<0.05), and the total number of RF energy applications less (p<0.05) than in the Bi-group. In the Uni-group, unipolar His bundle recordings could be assessed in 26 (76%) of 34 RF energy applications: Complete atrioventricular block was obtained at 15 (83%) of 18 sites with QS morphology and in 3 (37%) of 8 sites with rS morphology on the unipolar His bundle recording. CONCLUSIONS: AVJ ablation can be achieved more efficiently and with fewer RF energy applications when guided by unipolar recordings than by bipolar recordings alone.  (+info)

Safety of and tolerance to adenosine infusion for myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography in a Japanese population. (4/265)

BACKGROUND: Adenosine has been available for use in myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in Japan since 2005. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of and tolerance to thallium-201 myocardial perfusion SPECT with intravenous adenosine infusion in Japanese patients with suspected coronary artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two hundred and six consecutive patients who underwent an adenosine infusion (120 mug . kg(-1) . min(-1)) SPECT at Sumitomo Besshi Hospital (Niihama, Japan) were investigated. The effects of adenosine infusion were monitored for each patient. A coronary angiography was performed in 81 patients. Adenosine infusion significantly decreased blood pressure and increased heart rate. Adverse reactions were observed in 161 patients (78.2%). Most reactions were transient, disappearing soon after the termination of adenosine infusion. No serious adverse reactions, such as acute myocardial infarction or death, occurred. Adenosine infusion was terminated in 3 patients (1.5%) because of near syncope or sustained 2:1 atrioventricular block. Electrocardiographic changes occurred in 15 patients (7.3%). Self-assessed scoring after SPECT showed that the patients were very tolerant (74.6% of 177 patients) of adenosine infusion myocardial SPECT. The sensitivity and specificity were 75.0% and 69.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Adenosine infusion myocardial SPECT is safe and well tolerated in the Japanese population, despite the frequent occurrence of minor adverse reactions.  (+info)

Sinus node function in children with congenital complete atrioventricular block. (5/265)

AIMS: Children with congenital complete atrioventricular block (CCAVB) often need pacemaker therapy. In these children, it may be preferable to use single-lead VDD pacing, but for VDD pacing a normal sinus node function is required. Our aim was to study sinus node function in children with CCAVB. METHODS AND RESULTS: We longitudinally evaluated sinus rate in 36 children with CCAVB and normal anatomy of the heart. The rate of sinus rhythm on a 12-lead ECG, in Holter recordings, and exercise tests were evaluated at regular intervals. Age at the first visit of the children was 2.5+/-3.3 years (mean+/-SD). Follow-up was 10.6+/-7.3 years. The rate of sinus rhythm on a 12-lead ECG was at every age within the normal values for age (e.g. 0-1 year: 153+/-24 bpm, and 17-18 years: 76+/-4 bpm). Lowest and highest sinus rates in the Holter recordings were normal. During exercise, mean sinus rate in the total group of children increased from 92+/-8 at rest to 171+/-9 bpm at maximal exercise. CONCLUSION: We conclude that sinus node function is normal in children with CCAVB. Because of the normal increase in sinus rate during exercise, a single-lead VDD pacemaker can be safely implanted in these children.  (+info)

Acute and chronic effects of cardiac resynchronization in patients developing heart failure with long-term pacemaker therapy for acquired complete atrioventricular block. (6/265)

AIMS: We assessed the effects of cardiac re-synchronization therapy (CRT) in patients who developed otherwise unexplained heart failure (HF) during right ventricular apical (RVA)-pacing for acquired complete atrioventricular block (CAVB). METHODS AND RESULTS: Eighteen consecutive CAVB patients with HF during RVA-pacing were assessed with haemodynamic studies immediately and 12 months after CRT-upgrade. Ten patients had idiopathic CAVB and 13 showed normal left ventricular (LV) function at RVA-pacemaker implantation. HF developed after 81 +/- 10 months. RVA-pacing duration correlated (r = 0.49, P < 0.05) with LV ejection fraction (LVEF) deterioration. Biventricular- (BiV) and LV-pacing acutely improved the systolic function comparably, but only BiV improved diastolic function. One-year post-CRT-initiation, New York Heart Association classification improved 35 +/- 3% (P < 0.05) and the number of hospitalizations decreased 85 +/- 3% (P < 0.0001). CRT decreased LV end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd) 7 +/- 2% (P < 0.01) and increased LVEF by 23 +/- 7% (P < 0.01). The CRT-induced reduction in LVEDd tended to be greater in patients with RVA-pacing for < 5 years vs. > 5 years (7.7 +/- 2.5 vs. 3.6 +/- 1.0 mm, P = 0.08). CONCLUSION: CRT-upgrade improves the cardiac function and symptoms in CAVB patients with HF progression related to RVA-pacing. Because adverse LV-remodelling may be partly irreversible, consideration should be given to BiV- and LV-pacing upgrade as soon as possible after the indications appear, and prospective studies of the optimal timing of CRT-upgrade may be useful.  (+info)

Transient atrioventricular block shortly after uneventful cryoablation of atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardias: report of two cases. (7/265)

We report two patients with atrioventricular (AV) nodal re-entrant tachycardias who developed transient AV block immediately after uneventful cryoablation of the slow pathway was completed. No tachycardia recurrences were observed after an asymptomatic follow-up of 12 months and 10 months, respectively. This is the first report of this unexpected, transient phenomenon. The exact mechanism(s) remain(s) unclear.  (+info)

A randomized trial comparing two different approaches of pacemaker selection. (8/265)

AIMS: DDD-pacemakers are favoured in patients with sick-sinus-syndrome or AV-block. However, AAI-pacemakers for sick-sinus-syndrome or VDD-pacemakers for AV-block may provide similar benefit with lower costs. The aim is to show that a tailored approach (TA) with arrhythmia-specific pacemaker selection was equal to a standard approach (SA) regarding quality of life (QoL) at lower costs. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was prospective and randomized with QoL as primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints were a combined endpoint of all-cause mortality, worsening heart failure or angina, atrial fibrillation (AF), stroke, these endpoints individually and costs. Of 198 patients (age 77 +/- 10 years, 43% female, ejection fraction 54 +/- 12%, follow-up 38 +/- 15 months), 94 were randomized to SA and 104 to TA. Thirty-two patients (34%) died in the SA group vs. 25 (24%) in the TA (P= ns). QoL showed no differences in all dimensions. The combined secondary endpoint was reached more frequently with SA (51%) compared to TA (37%, P = 0.045). There was no difference regarding all single secondary endpoints. Hardware costs were reduced by 15% (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: In long-term follow-up, a TA is equal to SA regarding the primary endpoint QoL and secondary endpoints as AF and mortality. Depending on the healthcare system, it may significantly reduce costs.  (+info)