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Ventricular fibrillation after intravenous atropine in a patient with atrioventricular block
A 69-year-old black woman with complete AV block developed ventricular fibrillation following an IV injection of 1 mg of atropine sulphate. After a successful DC countershock, the ECG showed a polymorphous ventricular tachycardia which subsided spontaneously. Cardiac catheterization revealed a small left ventricular diverticulum and normal coronary arteries. This seems to be the first reported case of atropine-induced ventricular fibrillation in a patient with complete AV block. The fact that this occurred without previous change of the ventricular rate suggests that the adverse action of atropine was mediated through a mere vagolytic effect at the ventricular level.
A 69-year-old black woman with complete AV block developed ventricular fibrillation following an IV injection of 1 mg of atropine sulphate. After a successful DC countershock, the ECG showed a polymorphous ventricular tachycardia which subsided spontaneously. Cardiac catheterization revealed a small left ventricular diverticulum and normal coronary arteries. This seems to be the first reported case of atropine-induced ventricular fibrillation in a patient with complete AV block. The fact that this occurred without previous change of the ventricular rate suggests that the adverse action of atropine was mediated through a mere vagolytic effect at the ventricular level.