[Supraventricular tachyarrhythmia of a variable degree of atrial synchronization caused by drinking cold water]

We report upon a patient with mitral valve prolapse of mild degree who complained of paroxysmal tachyarrhythmias after drinking ice-cold beverages. It was demonstrated that iced water ingestion was followed, in this patient, by transient episodes of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. The reproducible induction of acute, transient rhythm disturbance can possibly be explained by the temperature changes of either the pericardium or the left atrial wall, which have been experimentally shown to follow iced water swallowing. Whether this is a direct cause-to-effect phenomenon or one involving a neural mechanism cannot be currently inferred.