Ventricular paired pacing to control rapid ventricular heart rate following open heart surgery. Observations on ectopic automaticity. Report of a case in a four-month-old patient

Circulation. 1976 Jan;53(1):176-81. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.53.1.176.

Abstract

An unusual case is presented in which an atrioventricular (A-V) junctional tachycardia at a rate of 285 beats/min developed in the immediate postoperative period following surgical repair (a Mustard procedure) of transposition of the great vessels in a four-month-old infant. With that heart rate the systolic blood pressure bacame 35-40 mm Hg and urinary output ceased. Ventricular paired pacing was employed successfully to halve the mechanically effective ventricular rate. This resulted in a clinically effective blood pressure and return of normal urinary output. The clinical course of the A-V junctional tachycardia, plus its response to several interventions, suggested that the mechanism of the A-V junctional tachycardia was automatic rather than re-entrant. The study demonstrates that ventricular paired pacing for the control of cardiac arrhythmias is a useful clinical technique in selected cases.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Atrioventricular Node / physiopathology
  • Cardiac Catheterization
  • Cardiac Output
  • Cardiopulmonary Bypass
  • Heart Ventricles* / physiopathology
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Pacemaker, Artificial*
  • Postoperative Complications / therapy*
  • Tachycardia / physiopathology
  • Tachycardia / therapy*
  • Transposition of Great Vessels / surgery