Types and frequency of cardiac arrhythmias in patients with heart failure

ABSTRACT

To determine the types and frequency of cardiac arrhythmias in patients with heart failure based on 48 hours ambulatory ECG recordings. Cross sectional descriptive study. Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology/National Institute of Heart Diseases, from April 2013 to August 2013. Fifty three heart failure patients with ejection fraction of Patients who had acute myocardial infarction during the last six weeks were excluded. Digital ECG data were manually edited and type and frequency of arrhythmias were analysed using statistical software. The mean age of patients was 57.68 +/- 16.41 years and male to female ratio was 3.41. The mean ejection fraction was 22.5 +/- 6.3 and 59% patients had NYHA class III. Cardiac arrhythmias were present in 46 [87%] patients. In patients with chronic heart failure commonest arrhythmias were of ventricular origin followed by conduction blocks. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease were the main underlying etiological factors in 71% patients. There is a high frequency of cardiac arrhythmias among heart failure patients with ventricular arrhythmias being the most frequent. Arrhythmogenesis in heart failure is dependent upon degree of ventricular dysfunction, presenting NYHA functional class and etiology of heart failure