Abstract
Background: Despite considerable progress in management over the recent years, coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of death. Objectives: to assess the different types of arrhythmias in patients with ischemic heart diseases in Taif city.
Methods: A retrospective study was done on 529 patients from Taif, Saudi Arabia aged 30 to >75 years, of both genders and who had CAD, through the review of medical records of cardiac patients in AL Hada armed forces hospital. A checklist was used that included demographic features and risk factors for ischemic heart disease, symptoms of heart failure, medications that patients who had CAD used and types of arrhythmias.
Results: All patients had a type of arrhythmia during their hospital stay. The main types of arrhythmias were AF (26.8 %), conduction disturbance (38.2%) and first-degree heart block (9.1 %). Patients who had STEMI with symptoms of heart failure and arrhythmias had a significantly higher percentage for the need of DC shock compared to other patients. Patients with UA who developed low EF were shown to be significant as regards arrhythmias rather than normal EF. The number of affected vessels had no effect on the development of arrhythmias during the acute stage. The development of arrhythmia that required DC shock was more common in STEMI patients especially those who developed heart failure symptoms.
Conclusion: The need of assessment of heart failure symptoms and EF in patients with UA is essential to determine the need for implantable device insertion. Also, early administration of b-blocker decreases the risk of development of arrhythmia during an acute ischemic event.