Successful termination of atrial flutter by ibutilide during pregnancy

Sustained atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter during pregnancy are uncommon arrhythmias that can significantly complicate normal prenatal care. Direct current external cardioversion is the current method of terminating these arrhythmias. In practice, however, this technique is sometimes considered undesirable by both physician and patients due to the need for deep sedation or anesthesia. In the present study, we describe the use of ibutilide to safely terminate symptomatic persistent atrial flutter in a patient during her 24th week of pregnancy.