Sick sinus syndrome encompasses a variety of EKG manifestations consisting of atrial bradyarrhythmias and tachyarrhythmias, alternating bradyarrhythmias and tachyarrhythmias as in tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome. Supraventricular tachyarrhythmias that can occur include atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, atrial tachycardia and paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, although there is no direct causal relation between paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia and sinus node disease. Atrioventricular node re-entry is a common cause of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia episodes. We present the case of a 70 year old female, hospitalized for atypical chest pain and dizziness when walking. The EKG on admission showed sinus bradyarrhythmia, anterior fascicular block, atrial and ventricular extrasystoles. During the hospitalization the patient presented an episode of palpitations, narrow complex tachycardia being registered on the EKG, with no response to the Valsalva maneuver or intravenous beta blocker. The tachyarrhythmia ceased spontaneously after one hour. 24 hour Holter EKG was performed and confirmed sinus node dysfunction. The electrophysiological study identified paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia due to atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia, which was successfully treated by ablating the slow intranodal pathway. Therefore, in a case of sick sinus syndrome when the patient's symptoms cannot be attributed to the bradycardia, but to the tachyarrythmic episodes, it is often most efficient to treat the patient's paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia by radiofrequency ablation, rather than using cardiac pacing.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.