BACKGROUND The electrocardiographic diagnostic dyad of emphysema, namely a combination of the frontal vertical P-vector and a narrow QRS duration, can serve as a quasidiagnostic marker for emphysema, with specificity close to 100%. We postulated that the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy in emphysema may affect the sensitivity of this electrocardiographic criterion given that left ventri...

introduction: previous studies have raised the probably of cardiac manifestation in tramadol poisoning. however, conclusive information on electrocardiographic (ecg) abnormalities of tramadol overdose remains to be explained. therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology of ecg abnormalities in tramadol poisoned patients. methods: in a prospective cross-sectional study, all pa...

OBJECTIVE To assess whether the size of the cytosine-thymine-guanine (CTG) expansion mutation in myotonic dystrophy predicts progression of conduction system disease and cardiac events. DESIGN Longitudinal study involving ECG and clinical follow up over (mean (SD)) 4.8 (1.8) and 6.2 (1.9) years, respectively, of patients stratified by CTG expansion size (E0 to E4). PATIENTS 73 adult patient...

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is undoubtedly of great benefit to many heart failure patients with widened QRS and depressed ejection fraction (1–3). The pathological feature that appears to be a large reason for response to CRT is correction of abnormalities of timing in regional left ventricular (LV) mechanical activation, known as dyssynchrony (4). Improvements in synchrony of regio...

Catheter recordings of His bundle electrograms were obtained in seven patients with congenital heart block (CHB) and in two with surgical heart block (SHB). In the latter two patients block occurred following total correction of tetralogy of Fallot. In six patients with CHB block occurred proximal to H. In one CHB patient block occurred in the His bundle with "split" H potentials. Intraventricu...

BACKGROUND: Flecainide, a class IC antiarrhythmic drug, is used frequently in patients with supraventricular arrhythmias, mostly atrial fibrillation, and less commonly for ventricular arrhythmias. With its strong affinity to sodium channels the cardiac cells it affects phase 0 of action potential leading conduction slowing, which reflected widening QRS, can also prolong PR interval. These unspe...

Bidirectional ventricular tachycardia (BDVT) is a rare form of ventricular arrhythmia, characterized by changing QRS axis of 180 degrees. Digitalis toxicity is considered as commonest cause of BDVT; other causes include aconite toxicity, myocarditis, myocardial infarction, metastatic cardiac tumour and cardiac channelopathies. We describe a case of BDVT in a patient with Anderson-Tawil syndrome.