[Permanent AV junction (Coumel type) reciprocal tachycardia].
Permanent auriculo-ventricular junctional reciprocating tachycardia is a special form of tachycardia usually incessant, secondary to an slow retrograde conduction pathway.


OBJECTIVE
To establish the clinical, electrophysiological characteristics and therapy results in patients with this diagnosis.


METHODS
Descriptive study.


RESULTS
Nine patients with average age 28.1 +/- 19.2 years, six women. Seven patients presented with dyspnea or palpitations. The left ventricular ejection fraction before treatment was 43.3 +/- 19.5%. The electrocardiographic findings were: heart rate of 139.2 +/- 16.7 bpm, QRS 78.9 +/- 16.2 ms and RP'/P'R relation of 1.8 +/- 0.5. The location of the accessory pathways was: right postero-septal in seven (77.7%), left lateral in one (11.15%) and left postero-lateral in one (11.15%). Radiofrequency ablation was performed in eight patients with an 87.5% success rate, two cases were taken to surgery with successful treatment, one of them after percutaneous ablation failure. Those with systolic left ventricular dysfunction recover their function in the follow-up. Any case has recurred.


CONCLUSIONS
In our center, permanent auriculo-ventricular junctional reciprocating tachycardia is an infrequent arrhythmia, predominantly in women and associated with reversible left ventricular dysfunction. Right postero-septal was the most frequent localization of the pathway. Radiofrequency ablation was performed successfully in 87.5% of cases.
Rodríguez
D A
DA
Departamento de Electrofisiología y Marcapasos, Fundación Clínica A. Shaio, Bogotá, Colombia. diegoand@yahoo.com
Rosas
F
F
Jumbo
L A
LA
Velasco
V M
VM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006346:Heart Septum; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013614:Tachycardia, Paroxysmal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy