An unrecognized, preventable cause of syncope, malignant arrhythmia, and cardiac death

摘要

A 68-year-old-man with a history of hypertension, a previous "silent Ml (myocardial infarction)," and prior unexplained syncope experienced a witnessed cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was promptly begun by his wife. He was subsequently def ibrillated and admitted to the coronary care unit on the cooling protocol. During transportation, episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF) were noted. His electrocardiograms (ECGs) at the time of evaluation of his syncope 10 years before and on admission to hospital are shown in Figure 1.