[Reperfusion arrhythmias in acute myocardial infarction]

Twenty-seven patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), in whom infarct-related coronary artery was occluded and thrombolytic therapy or PTCA were performed, were studied. Reperfusion confirmed by immediate coronary angiography was achieved in 24 patients. Reperfusion arrhythmias (RA) occurred in 19(79.2%) of the patients, including ventricular arrhythmias in 13 (54.2%). Ventricular fibrillation (VF) and sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) developed in 2(8.4%), and accelerated idioventricular rhythm in 5(20.8%); the latter showed a reliable indicator of coronary artery recanalization. Transient sinus bradycardia or AV block occurred in 10 (66.7%) of the 15 patients with inferior-posterior MI, which was an indicator of recanalization of coronary artery and salvage of myocardium in inferior-posterior MI. The occurrence of RA was not correlated with the duration of ischemia; ventricular RA was not related to the location of AMI and the occurrence and severity of ischemic arrhythmias before reperfusion. The patients with RA were treated with ordinary antiarrhythmic therapy, VF and sustained VT in 2 patients were converted by electric defibrillation. No death related to RA occurred. RA couldn't be prevented by lidocaine.