Reassessing Risk Factors in Pediatric Patients With Pacemakers Implanted for Atrioventricular Block: The Impact of Nonsustained Ventricular Tachycardia.

Introduction: In pediatric patients with pacemakers implanted for atrioventricular block (AVB), nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) detected during routine surveillance is a finding of unknown significance. We sought to describe the incidence of NSVT and determine if there was an association between NSVT and adverse outcomes in these patients.

Methods And Results: This is a single-center retrospective study of 136 patients (1971-2013) with pacemakers implanted for advanced and complete AVB.

Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome in a Term Infant Presenting With Cardiopulmonary Arrest.

Background: Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is a congenital abnormality of the cardiac conduction system caused by the presence of an abnormal accessory electrical pathway between the atria and the ventricles. This can result in intermittent tachyarrhythmias such as supraventricular tachycardia. In rare occasions, sudden death may occur from atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular conduction.

Flecainide use in children with cardiomyopathy or structural heart disease.

Flecainide is frequently used for treatment of cardiac arrhythmias in children. Due to concerns regarding increased mortality, there has been hesitancy to use flecainide in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) or cardiomyopathy (CM). The objective of this study was to describe trends in use of flecainide in children with CHD or CM and assess its association with cardiac arrest or death.

Race contributes to beta-blocker efficacy in pediatric patients with arrhythmias.

In African-American (AA) adults, β-blockers (BB) have been reported to be less efficacious treating cardiac disease compared with whites (CAUC). This has been attributed to genetic polymorphisms of β-receptors. It is unknown if racial differences affect response to BB in pediatric patients with arrhythmias.