MRI of patients with cardiac pacemakers: a review of the medical literature.

Objective: Numerous studies testing the use of pacemakers with MRI have been published. Our aim was to analyze these trials to determine the safety of MRI for patients with cardiac pacemakers. We performed a systematic search of peer-reviewed databases.

Inaccuracy of ECG interpretations reported to the poison center.

Study Objective: The ECG is an essential tool in the care of poisoned patients. This study is designed to investigate the accuracy of ECG interpretation reported to a poison center.

Methods: In this prospective study, all cases in which both an electronically faxed copy of the ECG and the caller's interpretation of the ECG were available were eligible for inclusion.

Torsade de pointes caused by polypharmacy and substance abuse in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus.

Drug-induced QT prolongation is a potentially dangerous adverse effect of some medication combinations. When QT prolongation progresses to torsade de pointes, life-threatening or fatal outcomes may result. A 57-year-old man with a history of human immunodeficiency syndrome on abacavir, nevirapine, tenofovir, voriconazole, and methadone presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of new-onset seizures.

Lead-associated endocarditis: the important role of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: Infection is a potentially life-threatening complication of cardiac device implantation. Lead-associated endocarditis (LAE) may be the most serious complication since it is associated with a high mortality.

Methods: The medical records of patients referred to our institution for the treatment of LAE between 1999 and 2007 were reviewed.

Differentiating atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia from atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia by DeltaHA values during entrainment from the ventricle.

Background: Differentiating atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) from orthodromic atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia (AVRT) can be difficult. The His bundle and atria are activated sequentially over the AV node during entrainment of AVNRT from the ventricle but simultaneously during supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). They are activated in parallel during entrainment of AVRT but sequentially during SVT.

Pseudo crosstalk behavior in a patient with atrio-ventricular block and implanted biventricular defibrillator.

We present a 59-year-old man with a dilated cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction = 20%), congestive heart failure and atrio-ventricular (AV) block who underwent implantation of a biventricular defibrillator (BiV ICD). While undergoing cardiac transplant evaluation for drug-refractory ventricular fibrillation, his telemetry recorded findings resembling crosstalk inhibition. Device interrogation was normal.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy: from creation to evolution--an evidence-based review.

In the past decade, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), achieved by simultaneous left and right ventricular pacing, has emerged as a potent therapeutic option for patients with congestive heart failure. Electrical dyssynchrony, most often manifested by left bundle branch block on the surface 12-lead electrocardiogram, results in mechanical dyssynchrony of the left ventricular septum and free wall, which decreases cardiac efficiency. In patients with ejection fractions <30%, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV, and QRS width >120 ms, CRT improves clinical parameters such as 6-minute walk distances, quality-of-life scores, and NYHA functional class.