Frequency of Arrhythmia After Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background: Acute Myocardial Infarction is one of the most serious and common diagnoses that necessitate admission to the Coronary Care Unit with prompt management, and about 90% of cases may develop different types of Arrhythmia that may require careful attention and immediate intervention. Methodology: This is a retrospective cross sectional study for 118 patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction admitted to the Coronary Care Unit of Al-Imamain Al-Kadhimain Medical City for eight months, starting from March 2013 to the end of October 2013, through reviewing patients case sheets and ECG records. Results: 67 patients out of 118 Acute Myocardial Infarction cases (56.7%) had developed one or more type of arrhythmia within their Coronary Care Unit stay, including 41 male (52.6% of all males with Acute Myocardial Infarction) and 26 female (65% of all females with Acute Myocardial Infarction), with age distribution (4.47%) 40-50 years, (32.83%) 50-60 years, (52.2%) 60-70 years and (10.44%) above 70 years, The types of arrhythmias found in the patients included in this study were as the following 36 cases with Premature Ventricular Contraction (30.5% of all patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction), 13 cases of Ventricular Tachycardia (11.01%), 8 cases with Ventricular Fibrillation (6.77%), 2 cases of Supraventricular Tachycardia (1.69%), 7 cases of premature Atrial Contraction (5.93%), 3 cases of Atrial Fibrillation (2.54%), 27 cases of Sinus Tachycardia (22.88%), 16 cases of Sinus Bradycardia (13.55%), 8 cases of first degree A-V Block (6.77%), 2 cases with Complete Heart Block (1.69%), 11 cases of Right Bundle Branch Block (9.32%) and 13 cases with Left Bundle Branch Block (11.01%) Conclusion: The frequency of arrhythmias and particularly ventricular arrhythmias, brady-arrhythmias following acute myocardial infarction was significantly high in Iraqi patients sample. Increasing with age in both sexes. More common in extensive infarctions, while Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, previous ischemic heart disease and smoking are the commonest associated risk factors, thrombolysis is under used and had no great impact.