The aim of the study was to determine the influence of the previous use of digoxin on the hospital mortality and complications of patients admitted because of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We analyzed the data of patients included in the ARIAM-Andalucia Registry, which involves 49 hospitals in Andalucia, Spain, from 2007 to 2012. Patients on digoxin treatment prior to their admission because of ACS constituted the digoxin group (DG), and were compared with the group of patients not on digoxin. Logistic regression and propensity score matching were used to analyze the differences. We included 20,331 patients, of whom 244 (1.2%) were on digoxin. DG patients were older (73.1 vs 63.7 years old), more often women, and had more diabetes, hypertension, previous myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease, obstructive pulmonary disease or kidney disease. On univariate analysis, DG patients had significantly higher hospital mortality (13.5 vs 5.3% P < 0.001), and more cardiogenic shock, but less ventricular fibrillation, and no differences in atrioventricular block, stroke or reinfarction. After the multivariate analysis, DG had no significant influence on hospital prognosis [odds ratio (OR) 1.21, 95% confidence interval 0.79-1.86]. The analysis of a propensity-matched cohort of 464 patients (232 DG and 232 NoDG) did not find differences in hospital mortality (13.4 vs 13.4%) nor other complications. In our cohort of ACS patients, the previous treatment with digoxin was not associated with an increase in dysrhythmic complications nor was an independent predictor of mortality during hospitalization.

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We describe the clinical case of a 70-year-old woman with complete atrioventricular block that after administration of intravenous adrenaline, developed electrocardiographic changes suggestive of acute coronary syndrome, together with apical dyskinesia of the left ventricle. After ruling out the existence of coronary lesions, and after total recovery of the echocardiographic alterations in segmental contractility, she was diagnosed as Tako-tsubo syndrome induced by administration of adrenaline. This is the first report of this syndrome in the scenario of atrioventricular block treated with adrenaline infusion.

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Recent studies have recently questioned the current role of β-blockers in myocardial infarction. Our purpose is to analyze the influence of the previous use of β-blockers on the early course of patients admitted because of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We analyzed the data of 37.359 patients included in the ARIAM-Andalucia Registry. Of them, 7759 (20.8%) were previously receiving β-blockers. BB patients were older, more often female, had more risk factors and vascular disease, and less often had an ST-elevation myocardial infarction. In the unadjusted analysis, BB patients less often had ventricular fibrillation or atrioventricular block, and more often a Killip classification >1, and no difference of in-hospital mortality (5.7 vs 5.6%). After logistic regression analysis and propensity score matching, no differences in complications or mortality (odds ratio 0.997, 95% confidence interval 0.882-1.128) were found in relationship to previous β-blockers. In conclusion, we find that the previous administration of β-blockers is not an independent predictor of the early prognosis of ACS.