[The usefulness of electrophysiology in a patient undergoing cardiomyoplasty]

The cardiomyoplasty is a new surgical procedure that uses a skeletal muscle electrostimulated in order to reinforce or even substitute partially the cardiac muscle. We present the electrophysiology aspects in a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy that underwent cardiomyoplasty. First the latissimus dorsi muscle was prepared with a neurostimulant ITREL II. During the surgical procedure a dual-chamber pacemaker mode DDD brand CPI was placed. After three months, ablation radiofrequency of the AV node was performed in order to control the atrial fibrillation that caused heart failure. By means of the AV block we obtained synchrony between the ventricular stimulation and the latissimus dorsi muscle, and by this the patient improved. Using the modern pacemakers and radiofrequency we can control the bradyarrhythmias as well as the tachyarrhythmias frequent in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, increasing the success rate of cardiomyoplasty.