Overdrive pacing for atrial flutter

To determine the incidence and predictors of conversion to normal sinus rhythm, a total of 124 procedures using a standard pacing protocol were performed in 101 consecutive inpatients referred for pace termination of atrial flutter. Normal sinus rhythm was achieved in 75 pace termination procedures (60%), including 10 in which atrial fibrillation occurred initially and later converted spontaneously. Sustained atrial fibrillation was provoked in 39 procedures, and atrial flutter persisted in 10. Clinical and laboratory parameters, including use of antiarrhythmic drugs, were not helpful in predicting the outcome of pacing. Of 17 patients undergoing repeat pacing for recurrent flutter, concordant results were obtained in only 4. It is concluded that: (1) overdrive pacing is only a moderately effective means of restoring sinus rhythm in patients with atrial flutter, although some change in rhythm occurs in the vast majority; (2) pacing-induced atrial fibrillation may be unstable and spontaneously converts to sinus rhythm in > 20% of cases; (3) there are no clinically useful predictors of success; (4) antiarrhythmic drugs do not facilitate pacing-induced conversion to sinus rhythm; and (5) failure to convert to sinus rhythm with 1 episode of flutter does not preclude success on subsequent occasions.