title: [Clinical-electrophysiological findings in patients following ventricular fibrillation].
abstract: 30 patients, successfully resuscitated from ventricular fibrillation outside acute myocardial infarction, were studied by programmed right-ventricular stimulation. The stimulation studies were carried out one week up to 1.5 years after the event (median two months). Mean age of the patients was 50.2 +/- 8.8 years, 27 were male. The majority of patients had coronary heart disease and/or localized or diffuse ventricular contraction abnormalities. In 26 patients the stimulation protocol included the application of premature single and double ventricular stimuli during sinus rhythm and a paced ventricular rhythm at cycle lengths of 500, 430, 370 and 330 msec until ventricular tachycardia, ventricular flutter or ventricular fibrillation were induced. 4 patients were studied only at a cycle length of 500 msec. Using this stimulation protocol, in 7 patients (26.9%) sustained ventricular tachycardia, in 5 patients (19.2%) ventricular flutter and in 7 patients (26.9%) ventricular fibrillation were induced. These arrhythmias were induced at a basic cycle length of 500 ms in 10 patients, at 430 ms in 3 patients, at 370 ms in 4 patients and at 330 ms in 2 patients. In the remaining patients, only ventricular echo beats (one to six) of the intra-ventricular reentry type were induced. Thus these results show a persistent increase in ventricular vulnerability in a high percentage of patients (73%), provided that appropriate stimulation techniques are used. These observations may have great importance for the management of these patients.
mesh_terms: D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000503:physiopathology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology*
vernacular_title: Klinisch-elektrophysiologische Befunde bei Patienten nach Kammerflimmern.