Stokes-Adams attacks requiring pacemaker treatment in three patients with acute nonspecific myocarditis

Three patients, aged 16--44 years, with complete heart block in acute myocarditis are reported. The diagnosis of myocarditis was based on the development of transitory repolarization disturbances on the ECG in association with clinical signs of acute infectious disease. All patients were brought to hospital due to repeated Stokes-Adams attacks and demonstrated ventricular asystoles for up to 25 sec. The patients were all successfully treated with temporary intracardiac pacing but one of them later turned out to require a permanent pacemaker. The possibility of differences in localization and in prognostic importance of conduction disturbances between infectious and ischemic myocardial disease is discussed.