Implantation of a single-chamber ICD with VVI pacing successfully managed a patient presenting with atrial standstill, dilated cardiomyopathy, and recurrent ventricular fibrillation.
Single-case success with VVI ICD in atrial standstill and VF warrants clinical caution; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation.
We report a 55-year-old female patient who presented with no P waves but with a wide QRS complex escape rhythm at 44 beats/min and prolonged QTc of 0.55 seconds on ECG. The patient had recurrence of ventricular fibrillations and loss of consciousness, and underwent defibrillation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) several times because of cardiac arrest. The transthoracic echocardiography showed dilated cardiomyopathy and enlargement of both atria. The Doppler echocardiography documented the absence of A wave in the tricuspid and mitral valve flow. An electrophysiologic study demonstrated electrical inactivity in the right and left atria. Atrial pacing with maximum output did not capture the atria. These findings together with her electrocardiographic finding indicated atrial standstill. Sudden cardiac death was her first clinical manifestation of ventricular arrhythmia. The patient remained asymptomatic after receiving a single chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) with VVI pacemaker function.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Park et al. (2009) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: