Treatment of drug resistant A-V reciprocating tachycardias with multiprogrammable dual demand A-V sequential (DVI,MN) pacemakers.

Programmable dual A-V sequential demand (DVI,MN) pacemakers were implanted in eight patients with recurrent or incessant, drug-refractory, A-V reciprocating tachycardias. This was done after intracardiac studies had identified a variety of electrogenetic mechanisms which include tachycardias involving Kent bundles, (manifest or concealed Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome), nodoventricular (Mahaim) fibers, enhanced A-V node pathways (Lown-Ganong-Levine syndrome), and dual intranodal pathways. The antitachycardia features of the pacemaker were evaluated during the electrophysiological studies. No immediate postoperative complications occurred after implantation. Furthermore, during the follow-up periods (4 to 20 months), clinical assessment, ambulatory (Holter) monitoring and invasive (as well as noninvasive) evaluations have confirmed continuous effectiveness in recognizing and automatically terminating the tachycardias. Late pacemaker system malfunction has not occurred. The frequency of the tachycardias and the dosage of concomitantly-administered antiarrhythmic medications were significantly reduced. Furthermore, preliminary studies performed in our laboratory suggest that DVI,MN pacemakers may also be useful in certain types of intra-atrial reentry tachycardias coexisting with sinus node dysfunction.

Quintuple pathways participating in three distinct types of atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia in a patient with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

Electrophysiologic studies were performed in a patient with recurrent supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. Sinus and paced atrial beats had QRS complexes characteristic of atrioventricular (A-V) conduction through a manifest left lateral accessory pathway (Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, type A). Three distinct types of A-V reciprocating tachycardia and three different modes of retrograde atrial activation were demonstrated. Type 1 tachycardia involved the slow A-V nodal pathway and a second (left lateral or left paraseptal) accessory A-V pathway capable of retrograde conduction only. Type 2 tachycardia was of the slow-fast A-V nodal pathway type. Type 3 tachycardia involved in heretofore undescribed circuit in that retrograde conduction occurred through an accessory A-V pathway with long retrograde conduction times and anterograde conduction through both the manifest left lateral accessory A-V pathway and fast A-V nodal pathway. Premature ventricular beats delivered late in the cycle of this tachycardia advanced (but did not change) the retrograde atrial activity without affecting the timing of the corresponding anterograde H deflection. In summary, this patient had five (three accessory and two intranodal) pathways participating in three different types of A-V reciprocating tachycardia; the recurrence of these were prevented with oral amiodarone therapy.