Effects of isoproterenol on bradycardia-dependent intra-His and left bundle branch blocks

Pharmacological stress testing of the His-Purkinje system in patients with bifascicular block

This literature review, based mainly on the English-language literature, focuses on pharmacological stress testing of the His-Purkinje system as part of an invasive electrophysiological study. The main target group for this investigation is patients with bifascicular block and syncope in which intermittent high grade AV block is suspected. Several drugs have been used for this purpose, mainly Class I antiarrhythmic agents such as ajmaline, procainamide, disopyramide, and flecainide. Most studies, unfortunately, suffer from limited patient numbers, lack of adequate control groups, and/or adequate follow-up. The sensitivity of the disopyramide stress test has been shown to be 75%-100% for prediction of impending high grade AV block. The specificity was > 90%. Studies on procainamide have shown a sensitivity of 60% but the specificity has not been assessed. There are no studies allowing a strict comparison of the diagnostic value of pharmacological provocation with different drugs. Based on the similarities of the electrophysiological effects on the His-Purkinje system of the above Class I agents, it is reasonable to assume that all of them might be of diagnostic value in the present clinical context, provided atrial and ventricular stimulation after drug is included in the protocol.

Bradycardia-dependent block and fatigue phenomenon of the His-Purkinje system manifested during upright tilt

Atrioventricular (AV) block occurring in the His-Purkinje system may occur sporadically and can be difficult to document. In this article, we describe two patients with spontaneous episodes of AV block, in whom the use of upright tilt during electrophysiological testing led to a diagnosis of His-Purkinje disease. In both cases, testing in the supine position only uncovered mild or no abnormalities of infra-nodal conduction. In the first case, high grade block distal to the His occurred and the mechanism appeared to be bradycardia-dependent block. In this case, increased sympathetic tone due to upright tilt may have enhanced the slope of phase 4 depolarization in abnormal His-Purkinje cells, leading to block. In the second case, high grade block distal to the His was seen with upright tilt and the mechanism of block appeared to be fatigue phenomenon in the His-Purkinje system. These cases emphasize the elusive nature and varied mechanisms of His-Purkinje block and illustrate the utility of electrophysiological testing in the upright position in patients with suspected conduction system disease.

Exercise testing and thallium-201 myocardial perfusion scintigraphy in the clinical evaluation of patients with Wolff Parkinson White syndrome

In 58 patients with Wolff Parkinson White syndrome (WPW), we performed exercise stress testing in order to investigate the incidence of normalization of the auriculo-ventricular conduction and the ST-segment changes. For a more accurate evaluation of the latter, exercise and redistribution radionuclide images with Thallium-201 were obtained in 18 cases. Forty-nine had type A and nine had type B of WPW. Forty-eight had permanent, four had alternant and six had no pre-excitation (PE) when they started the test. Mean maximal functional capacity, mean maximal heart rate and mean maximal double product were not different when compared to an age-matched control group. Of the 48 patients who began the test with PE, in 23 (48%) it disappeared while PE persisted in 25 (52%). In 16 cases the disappearance of the PE was sudden and in seven it was progressive. Pre-excitation persisted in 39.5% of patients with type A and in 88.8% with type B (p less than 0.01). ST-segment depression was observed in 76.6% of patients with PE and in 28.6% of cases without PE (p less than 0.01). ST-segment depression occurred in 44.8% of patients with type A and in 100% of cases with type B (p less than 0.05). Transient abnormal Thallium-201 scans were observed in 62.5% of patients without PE and in 20% with PE. No patients showed exertional arrhythmias. This study suggests the possibility of measuring the duration of the refractory period of the accessory pathway in those patients in which the PE disappears suddenly, at a given heart rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Paroxysmal complete heart block due to bradycardia-dependent "phase 4" fascicular block in a patient with sinus node dysfunction and bifascicular block

A 34-year-old man with ankylosing spondylitis was admitted to the hospital because of syncopal attacks and heart block. Standard ECG, telemetry and an invasive electrophysiologic examination demonstrated right bundle branch block with left anterior fascicular block, sinus node dysfunction with spontaneous slowing of the sinus rate and, as a result, complete infrahisian atrioventricular block in the remaining fascicle at sinus rates below 57 beats per minute. Infrequent supraventricular extrasystoles and abruptly terminated atrial pacing led to the same result. Atrioventricular conduction resumed after three-to-four blocked atrial impulses with successively increasing rate. Pacemaker treatment provided complete symptomatic relief.