Ablation of unmappable ventricular parasystole originating from the right ventricular outflow tract: a case report.

BACKGROUND: When the coupling interval is matched, ventricular parasystole can form a stable fusion QRS complex with sinus rhythm. Ablation of a fusion QRS complex has been rarely reported and is unexpectedly difficult. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a case of ventricular parasystole from muscle sleeves of the right ventricular outflow tract. The patient was a 54-year-old woman who was admitted to the hospital because of frequent palpitations for 3 months. Anti-arrhythmic drugs had been ineffective, and she had no history of cardiovascular disease. Because the fusion QRS complex interfered with the conventional mapping technique, we could not eliminate the ventricular parasystole successfully. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Finally, we used the reversed U curve method and found that the source of ventricular arrhythmia was in the right cusp according to the special local potential. A fusion QRS complex formed by ventricular parasystole and nodal ventricular activation make mapping and ablation difficult. The special local potential was the only evidence available to confirm the target of ablation satisfactorily.

Ventricular arrhythmias in children with attention deficit disorder--a symptom of autonomic imbalance?

OBJECTIVES: Potential side effects of stimulants for attention deficit disorder are in the focus of scientific discussions, intensified by the higher number of prescriptions. Children with known arrhythmias or other severe cardiac problems should not receive stimulants because of their sympathomimetic effects. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of 24-hour Holter electrocardiograms from 100 consecutive children with attention deficit disorder from January, 2006 to April, 2012. RESULTS: In all, nine children had significant ventricular arrhythmia (mean age 11.4 ± 3.1 years, 77% male, 77% received methylphenidate). All these children had ventricular parasystole - four of them with an accelerated idioventricular rhythm. A significant circadian rhythm of premature ventricular contractions in seven children and the effect of standing and exercise clearly indicate the influence of the autonomic nervous system. In these children, hourly analysis of circadian rhythm within a 24-hour period showed a highly significant correlation between premature ventricular contractions and the vagal tone indicated by the heart rate variability parameter RMSSD (r = -0.83; p < 0.001). Ventricular arrhythmia was unaffected in seven children who received methylphenidate before diagnosis and decreased during metoprolol treatment in two children. CONCLUSION: By Holter electrocardiogram analysis, we observed a remarkably high incidence of ventricular parasystole and accelerated idioventricular rhythm in nine of 100 children with attention deficit disorder, which depends on autonomic imbalance and not on stimulant treatment.

Double, double...What's the trouble?

Parasystole can be subtle, making the diagnosis difficult to recognize.

The role of local voltage potentials in outflow tract ectopy.

AIMS: Discrete, fragmented, local voltage potentials (LVPs) have been observed in electrograms recorded at the ablation site in patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation for arrhythmias originating in both the right and left ventricular outflow tract; however, the incidence and the significance of the LVP with respect to arrhythmogenesis is uncertain. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 25 patients with outflow tract arrhythmias referred for radiofrequency catheter ablation and recorded high-amplified intracardiac electrograms close to the site of origin of the arrhythmia. Ten patients undergoing ablation for supraventricular arrhythmias served as controls. During sinus rhythm, LVPs were recorded in 24 of the 25 patients, 10-85 ms (41 +/- 19 ms) after the onset of the QRS complex, duration 33 +/- 11 ms, voltage 2.0 +/- 1.5 mV. The same potential was recorded 10-52 ms (mean 37 +/- 11 ms) prior to the V potential in the ventricular premature beats. In 10 patients, ventricular parasystole was suggested by varying coupling intervals >100 ms, and fusion beats allowing for the estimation of the least common denominator of R-R intervals. In 23 of the 25 patients, the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) and intracardiac contact mapping located the arrhythmias to an area of 3-4 cm(2) in the septal region of the right ventricular outflow tract; in two patients, the site of origin was in the left coronary cusp. Radiofrequency ablation carried out in 24 of the 25 patients was successful in 21 patients, and after successful ablation, the LVP could still be recorded in all these 21 patients. The LVP was not present in 10 controls. CONCLUSION: Local potentials are recorded close to the site of origin of ventricular ectopy in >90% of patients with idiopathic outflow tract ectopy and imply successful ablation. The potentials may reflect an area of depressed conductivity known to be a prerequisite for experimental ventricular ectopy including parasystole.

Radiofrequency catheter ablation of parasystole originating from the inferior vena cava.

A 76-year-old man with a history of atrial septal defect repair underwent radiofrequency (RF) ablation of typical atrial flutter. During electrophysiological study, incessant sharp potentials were recorded, originating from the ostium of the inferior vena cava (IVC), and dissociated from atrial activity. During sinus rhythm, these potentials propagated to the atria and caused premature complexes when falling beyond the atrial refractory period. Electro-anatomical mapping revealed the presence of the earliest potential in the postero-lateral ostium of the IVC, propagating to the septal region. After RF isolation of the IVC, the patient has remained arrhythmia-free over a 5-year follow-up.

Atrial parasystole in left ventricular noncompaction: a morphofunctional study by echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Isolated left ventricular noncompaction is a recently recognized age-independent cardiac genetic disorder caused by heterogeneous defects in endo-myocardial morphogenesis. Transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance are the most reliable techniques to make a diagnosis of the disease, noninvasively. Arrhythmic atrial and ventricular disorders have been reported in 20-50% of these patients. The morphological and functional findings are described in a young woman in whom the exclusive clinical sign of isolated ventricular noncompaction was an atrial parasystole.

Variation in parasystolic cycle length.

At the time of the first visit to our clinic, an electrocardiographic examination of a 73-year-old female patient revealed ventricular premature contractions (VPCs) with variable coupling intervals that were diagnosed as parasystole. Characteristically many of the parasystoles had no sinus contractions between two consecutive VPCs, which we referred to as pure parasystole. We first repeatedly examined variations in the length of the parasystolic cycles between January 6, 1997 and March 2, 2003 using electrocardiography. The time courses recorded over this period showed that the length of the parasystolic cycle did not remain constant, but varied irregularly within a relatively narrow range. We also recorded the length of the parasystolic cycles over 3 hours using Holter monitoring. The interectopic intervals plotted against mean sinus cycle length showed that the cycle length of pure parasystoles remained almost constant at about 1,300 ms over the 3 hours. We also examined the cycle length during exercise and found that it was slightly prolonged thereafter, while the sinus cycle length was clearly shortened after exercise. The average of six deep breathing tests showed that parasystolic cycle length did not significantly differ between deep inspiration and deep expiration, whereas the sinus cycle length during expiration was significantly longer than that during inspiration. These results indicate that the responses to both exercise and deep breathing obviously differed between the parasystolic and sinus cycle lengths.

Extrapotentials and allorhythmias as an expression of experimental parasystole.

UNLABELLED: The aim of the study was to investigate the dynamics of experimental parasystole taking into consideration the peculiarities of recurrent arrhythmias recorded in clinical settings. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The experiments were conducted on isolated right atria of seven chinchilla rabbits. Parasystolic arrhythmias using periodical one-site electrostimulation were provoked in one atrium, where the sinus node was not affected, and in two atria with the spontaneous low value activity of pacemakers. The parasystolic arrhythmias by the dual-site periodical pacing were provoked in four atria, in which the spontaneous activity had disappeared, while the membrane potential of cardiomyocytes remained at the level of 70 to 80 mV. RESULTS: The parasystolic arrhythmias of the shape of single extrapotentials were obtained in atria when the periods of excitation impulses were within the limits of 0.9-1.2 s, and the differences between these periods being relatively small (0.04-0.2 s). The increase of these differences resulted the various allorhythmias. In cases of single extrapotentials, the recurrence periods of arrhythmias reached 5.6-29 s; while in cases of allorhythmias they shortened to 2.4-4.8 s. CONCLUSION: The parasystoles in isolated atria of rabbits can be induced by two competitive excitation sources. They may manifest themselves through single extrapotentials or allorhythmias, whose form depends on the duration of the periods of excitation impulses, the difference between these durations, as well as on effective refractory periods of atrial cardiomyocytes. The determination and evaluation of the recurrence period of these arrhythmias can serve in any given clinical situation as a supplementary criterion.

O Holter de 24 horas no diagnóstico diferencial da parassístole / Holter twenty-four monitoring in parasystole differential diagnosis

Os autores relatam um caso de parassístole ventricular registrada no Holter de 24 horas. Este diagnóstico foi possível devido à observação criteriosa do foco ectópico e por este exame disponibilizar longo tempo de monitorização. A gravação apresentou frequentes atividades atriais isoladas, mimetizando extra-sístoles atriais bloqueadas na condução atrioventricular, o que tornava difícil o correto diagnóstico. Após medidas precisas do traçado, observou-se, tratrem essas ectopias, de condução ventrículo-atrial do foco parassistólico ventricular, que, por apresentar bloqueio de saída, ocasionou a não-manifestação eletrocardiográfica do QRS. O Holter de 24 horas mostrou-se útil na detecção deste tipo de arritmia, que na maioria das vezes não é corretamente diagnosticada

His-bundle parasystole masquerading as exercise-induced 2:1 atrioventricular block.

We describe a case of symptomatic pseudo-AV block due to His-bundle parasystole masquerading as exercise-induced 2:1 AV block. Electrophysiologic study revealed the presence of His-bundle parasystole, and the fluctuation of parasystolic cycle length could be explained by the concept of modulated parasystole. Modulated parasystole is a possible explanation for maintenance of stable 2:1 AV conduction at an atrial rate of specific range during exercise.

Ventricular parasystolic couplets originating in the pathway between the ventricle and the parasystolic pacemaker: mechanism of "irregular" parasystole.

This article explains the mechanism of "irregular" parasystole. Two theories have been suggested: "electrotonic modulation" and "type I second degree entrance block." This study attempts to clarify the mechanism of irregular parasystole in cases of true ventricular parasystole associated with ventricular parasystolic couplets. Cases associated with ventricular parasystolic couplets were selected from 37 clinical cases of true ventricular parasystole in which one or more pure parasystolic cycles with no intervening nonectopic QRS complexes were found. Of the 37 cases of true ventricular parasystole, ventricular parasystolic couplets were found in 4 cases. In none of the other 33 cases, ventricular parasystolic couplets were found. In all the cases coexisting with ventricular parasystolic couplets, the latter ectopic QRS complex of the couplet failed to reset the parasystolic rhythm. The above findings suggest that the latter ectopic QRS complex of the parasystolic couplet originated not in the parasystolic pacemaker but in the pathway between the ventricle and the parasystolic pacemaker. It seems that when a sinus impulse fell late in the parasystolic cycle, it passed through the site of second degree entrance block and that the parasystolic couplets originated from the reentrant pathway between the ventricle and the pacemaker. This strengthens our previous suggestion that the mechanism of irregular parasystole is governed by "type I second degree entrance block" and not by "electrotonic modulation."

Clinical evaluation of excitability measures in sensory nerve.

A recently described method for recording multiple excitability parameters of human motor nerves has been adapted to the study of sensory nerves. The protocol measures stimulus-response behavior using two stimulus durations (from which the distribution of strength-duration time constants is estimated), threshold electrotonus to 100 ms polarizing currents, a current-threshold relationship (indicating inward and outward rectification), and the recovery of excitability following supramaximal activation. The method was tested on 50 healthy volunteers, stimulating the median nerve at the wrist and recording the antidromic compound sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) from digit 2. The excitability measurements were similar, where comparisons were possible, with published sensory nerve data, and confirmed differences from motor nerves, particularly in strength-duration behavior and recovery cycle, likely to reflect functional differences between sensory and motor nerves. Although slower than for motor nerves, the sensory nerve recordings were sufficiently quick (16 to 18 min) to allow them to be included in routine clinical studies. We propose that this method, which provides quite different and complementary information about nerve function to conventional conduction studies, provides a useful new approach for exploring the pathophysiology of sensory neuropathies.