A Case of Permanent Junctional Reciprocating Tachycardia Treated with Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation

ABSTRACT

Permanent junctional reciprocating tachycardia (PJRT) is an infrequent form of reentrant supraventricular tachycardia. This tachycardia usually occurs in children and young adults and may be associated with tachycardiainduced cardiomyopathy. It is virtually incessant, at a rate ranging from 120 to 250 beats/minute. The characteristic electrocardiogram shows inverted P waves in the inferior leads with a long RP interval (RP greater than PR) during tachycardia. During tachycardia, the cardiac impulse conducts antegradely through the atrioventricular node and His-Purkinje system, returning retrogradely through the slowly conducting accessory pathway. The location of the accessory pathway is usually, but not always, near the ostium of the coronary sinus. Since the advent of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA), several reports have emphasized the usefulness of RFCA for the treatment of PJRT. We report a case of PJRT in a 33-year-old male, successfully treated with RFCA.