ABSTRACT
We report the case of a patient who developed spontaneously a ventricular fibrillation during atrial fibrillation, 8 min after a perfusion of isoproterenol was stopped. Two mechanisms could explain the ventricular arrhythmia: silent ischaemia and a long-short cycle sequence just before ventricular fibrillation.
Subject(s)
Atrial Fibrillation/physiopathology , Coronary Disease/physiopathology , Ventricular Fibrillation/physiopathology , Atrial Flutter/physiopathology , Atrioventricular Node/physiopathology , Cardiac Pacing, Artificial , Electrocardiography, Ambulatory , Heart Atria/physiopathology , Heart Ventricles/physiopathology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Myocardial Infarction/physiopathology , Myocardial Ischemia/physiopathology , Ventricular Function, Left/physiologyABSTRACT
Systemic embolisms involving cholesterol crystals sometimes occur following vascular catheterization and may be responsible for a variety of clinical signs. The authors report a case in which the etiological diagnosis included a transesophageal echography (TEE) which revealed atheromatous plaques on the thoracic aorta which were probably responsible for the projections. It is possible that episodes of embolism, either fibrinocruoric or due to the release of cholesterol crystals, arising from the thoracic aorta, have hitherto been underestimated by imaging methods such as scans and angiographs. Further studies with TEE may make it possible to estimate the extent of this disorder.