Risk of cardiac dysrhythmias in chronic spinal cord injury patients

The incidence of cardiac dysrhythmias is characterized in a group of 47 chronic SCI patients (greater than 30 days post injury; range 35-3605 days) with SCI lesions ranging from C4 to L3 who were referred for evaluation of a potential cardiac dysrhythmia by 24 hour Holter monitoring. Patients were grouped according to level of injury as paraplegic (T1 and below), n = 22, or quadriplegic (C3-C8), n = 25. No evidence of life threatening dysrhythmias was noted in either group, and no differences were evidenced in the incidence of cardiac dysrhythmias between the groups. Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) were noted in 4/25 quadriplegics, and in 1/22 paraplegics, and right bundle branch block (RBBB) was noted in 1/25 quadriplegics and 1/22 paraplegics. A two-year chart review follow up revealed that no clinically significant cardiac dysrhythmic events occurred in these patients. These findings suggest that the risk of cardiac dysrhythmia is attenuated following the acute phases of SCI and represents a diminished concern to the clinician.