Atrial fibrillation following low voltage electrical injury

Abstract

Electrical injuries can have myriad presentations, including significant cardiac involvement. Arrhythmias are the most frequently experienced cardiac affliction, of which sinus tachycardia or bradycardia, ventricular fibrillation, atrial or ventricular premature beats and bundle branch block are most commonly reported. A 50-year-old man, with no prior history of cardiac disease, presented with palpitations following low voltage electrical injury. On examination, he was tachycardic with an irregularly irregular pulse. An ECG confirmed atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular rate. Chemical cardioversion was attempted successfully, following which the patient reverted to sinus rhythm. Atrial fibrillation following electrical injury has been rarely described in the literature, and is rarer so without associated high voltage electrical exposure or pre-existing cardiac ailment.