[Value of searching ventricular late potentials in patients recovering from ventricular fibrillation].

The prognostic value of ventricular late potentials (VLP) was studied in 38 survivors of ventricular fibrillation (VF) resuscitated after cardiac arrest. Thirty-seven patients had coronary artery disease, 24 within one month of myocardial infarction, and one patient had valvular heart disease. There were 7 deaths within 2 years, including 5 sudden deaths, the average follow-up in the remaining patients being 46 +/- 30 months.

Flecainide in quinidine-resistant atrial fibrillation.

Flecainide (100 mg twice daily) was used for prevention of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) in 52 patients with frequent symptomatic attacks that were resistant or intolerant to quinidine (600-900 mg/day). Underlying heart disease was present in only 8 cases and left ventricular ejection fraction was always greater than 30%. No patient had had a myocardial infarction.

[Life expectancy after a first attack of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia. Apropos of 295 patients with a follow-up of more than 5 years].

Analysis of actuarial cardiac mortality of 295 patients after a first attack of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia followed up for an average of 5.1 years showed that: the aetiology was the main prognostic factor. Patients with a normal left ventricle had a zero 5 year mortality rate (normal heart) or 3% (arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia) compared with 24% in patients with cardiomyopathy and 40% with myocardial infarction: p less than 0.

Long-term follow-up after sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia: Causes, pump failure, and empiric antiarrhythmic therapy that modify survival.

We analyzed the actuarial cardiac mortality rate of 295 consecutive patients with sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia who were referred to us between 1978 and 1988. Patients were divided into four groups: group I of 156 patients with coronary disease, group II of 55 patients with nonischemic left ventricular disease, group III of 65 patients with right ventricular disease, and group IV of 19 patients without detectable heart disease. Patients were treated empirically according to a prospective schema: (1) class I antiarrhythmic drugs, (2) in case of recurrence of ventricular tachycardia: amiodarone or beta-blockers, (3) in case of recurrence of ventricular tachycardia: drug combinations or surgery.

[Prognostic factors for success in catheter ablation of the right Kent bundle: report of 27 patients].

In 27 patients with atrial fibrillation and/or reciprocating tachycardia, ablation of right-sided Kent bundles (23 in the right posterior paraseptal region and four of the right free wall) was performed. The anterograde refractory period of the accessory pathways was 253 +/- 70 msec and the shortest R-R interval during atrial fibrillation 211 +/- 47 msec. Cumulative energies of 589 +/- 396 J per patient were used, with 3 +/- 2 shocks and 195 +/- 312 J per shock.