ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Transient myocardial ischemia that is recorded on Holter monitoring after a myocardial infarction is known to be a risk factor of myocardial reinfarction or death. However, it is still uncertain whether transient myocardial ischemia is a cause of ventricular arrhythmias or is simply an indicator of severe coronary artery disease. Therefore, we have studied the relation of ventricular arrhythmias to transient myocardial ischemia detected on Holter monitoring after a myocardial infarction. METHOD: We studied 40 patients with acute myocardial infarction who were performed Holter monitoring, 7 to 14 days after an attack. On Holter monitoring, we analyzed the prevalence, characteristics of transient myocardial ischemia and its relation to ventricular arrhythmias. RESULTS: 1) Among 40 patients(32 men, 8 women, mean age 53+/-13), transient myocardial ischemia was recorded in 13 patients(33%). ST elevation was observed in 2 patients, and ST depression, in 11 patients. Total episodes of transient myocardial ischemia were 65, of which only one episode was accompanied by chest pain, and total daily episodes were 4.8+/-1.4. Total daily duration of transient myocardial ischemia was 61.4+/-15.5 minutes and the duration of each transient myocardial ischemia was 15.8+/-2.1 minutes. 2) There were no significant differences in frequencies of single ventricular premature beast, bigeminy, trigeminy, ventricular couplets, and ventricular tachycardias between two groups with and without transient myocardial ischemia. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that transient myocardial ischemia on Holter monitoring after myocardial infarction is not a cause of ventricular arrhythmias.