Arrhythmias in pulmonary arterial hypertension
Archana Rajdev, Hasan Garan, Angelo Biviano, Archana Rajdev, Hasan Garan, Angelo Biviano
Abstract
Cardiac arrhythmias are important contributors to morbidity and mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Such patients manifest a substrate resulting from altered autonomics, repolarization abnormalities, and ischemia. Supraventricular arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation and flutter are associated with worsened outcomes, and maintenance of sinus rhythm is a goal. Sudden death is a relatively common issue, though the contribution of malignant ventricular arrhythmias versus bradyarrhythmias differs from non-PAH patients. Congenital heart disease patients with PAH benefit from catheter ablation of medically refractory arrhythmias. Clinical studies of defibrillator/pacemaker therapy for primary prevention against sudden death in PAH patients are lacking.
Conflict of interest statement
Conflict of Interest: none.
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Source: PubMed