Toxin-Mediated Myocarditis From a Brown Recluse Spider Bite.

We describe a case of myocarditis associated with a brown recluse spider bite in a 31-year-old man. Cardiac magnetic resonance revealed late gadolinium enhancement in the lateral wall and inferior wall. There was also regional elevation of the myocardial T2 and extracellular volume indicative of myocardial edema.

Atropine-induced sinus tachycardia protects against exercise-induced ventricular arrhythmias in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia.

Aims: Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is an inherited arrhythmia syndrome characterized by exercise-induced ventricular arrhythmias, sudden death, and sinus bradycardia. Elevating supraventricular rates with pacing or atropine protects against catecholaminergic ventricular arrhythmias in a CPVT mouse model. We tested the hypothesis that increasing sinus heart rate (HR) with atropine prevents exercise-induced ventricular arrhythmias in CPVT patients.