[Postextrasystolic depression of sinus rhythm during electroimpulse therapy of auricular fibrillation]

In 95 patients treated by electroimpulse techniques for their cardiac fibrillation the incidence and diagnostic importance of postextrasystolic depression of the sinus rhythm were studied. Two groups of patients were singled out for a comparative study of the value of different prognostic criteria of the stability of the restored sinus rhythm: group 1--53 patients with unsatisfactory results of treatment (the sinus rhythm was preserved for not more than 1 month), and group 2--21 patients with good late results (the sinus rhythm persisted for over 6 months). A study of the distribution of the incidence of different prognostic signs in either of these groups showed that their prognostic value may be presented in the following succession: presence of intraventricular conductivity, severity of cardiac insufficiency, frequent postconversion extrasystoles, history of cardiac fibrillation of over 3 years, presence of a postextrasystolic depression of the sinus rhythm.