Carotid sinus massage, while generally considered a benign diagnostic and therapeutic maneuver, carries a potential risk of inducing severe arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation.
May warrant caution with carotid sinus pressure in atrial flutter; leaves open true incidence via prospective safety data.
In this report we describe a case of atrial flutter degenerating into ventricular fibrillation after carotid sinus pressure. Carotid sinus massage is an extremely valuable and widely used diagnostic and therapeutic modality. Although generally considered a rather benign maneuver, it is not without potential risk.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Fox et al. (2008) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: