Intermittent Ventricular Standstill During Chronic Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Dizziness or Syncope

Thirty‐two patients with atrial fibrillation and normal ventricular rates who complained of dizziness or loss of consciousness underwent 24‐hour ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring. A control group of 25 patients in atrial fibrillation but without symptoms of dizziness or loss of consciousnes...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pacing and clinical electrophysiology 1987-11, Vol.10 (6), p.1271-1276
Main Authors: REBELLO, ROSARIO, BROWNLEE, WILLIAM C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adrenergic beta-Antagonists - therapeutic use
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
atrial fibrillation
Atrial Fibrillation - physiopathology
Atrial Fibrillation - therapy
Chronic Disease
Combined Modality Therapy
Digoxin - therapeutic use
Dizziness - physiopathology
Electrocardiography
Female
Heart Block - physiopathology
Heart Ventricles - physiopathology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Monitoring, Physiologic
Pacemaker, Artificial
permanent cardiac pacing
syncope
Syncope - physiopathology
ventricular standstill
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Thirty‐two patients with atrial fibrillation and normal ventricular rates who complained of dizziness or loss of consciousness underwent 24‐hour ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring. A control group of 25 patients in atrial fibrillation but without symptoms of dizziness or loss of consciousness was likewise investigated. All patients remained in atrial fibrillation; periods of ventricular standstill (mean, 2.9; range, 1.8–8.0) were present in 31 symptomatic patients but in only three of the control patients (mean, 1.9 s; range, 1.7–2.4). Twenty‐three symptomatic patients with pauses ± 2.0 s received a demand pacemaker. Following pacing, nineteen became completely asymptomatic; four patients continued to have dizziness but three of these, who also experienced syncope, no longer did so (mean follow‐up, 13 months; range, 6–30). It is suggested that ventricular standstill may commonly occur in patients with controlled atrial fibrillation who complain of dizziness or syncope and that the majority will benefit from permanent cardiac pacing.
ISSN:0147-8389
1540-8159
DOI:10.1111/j.1540-8159.1987.tb04963.x