Skip Navigation



Europace Advance Access published online on September 28, 2006
Europace, doi:10.1093/europace/eul103
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (Rapid PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
8/11/988    most recent
eul103v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kaye, G.
Right arrow Articles by Czygan, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kaye, G.
Right arrow Articles by Czygan, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The European Society of Cardiology 2006. All rights reserved
Received July 26, 2005
Accepted July 9, 2006

Article

The use of unipolar intracardiac impedance for discrimination of haemodynamically stable and unstable arrhythmias in man

Gerry Kaye 1 *, Wayne Arthur 1, Deborah Edgar 2, Michael Lippert 3, and Gerald Czygan 3

1 Department of Cardiology, East Yorkshire Hospital Trust and University of Hull, Hull, East Yorkshire HU7 3AZ, UK
2 Biotronik UK Ltd, Avonbury Business Park, Bicester, Oxon, OX26 3WX, UK
3 Biotronik GmbH & Co KG, Erlangen, Germany

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Gerry Kaye, E-mail: gerrykaye100{at}yahoo.co.uk


  Abstract

Aims To determine the feasibility of discriminating haemodynamically stable from unstable arrhythmias using right ventricular (RV) unipolar intracardiac impedance (Z).

Methods and results A quadrapolar temporary pacing electrode was positioned at the RV apex and unipolar impedance was measured between the tip electrode and a surface patch electrode. Changes in peak-to-peak Z amplitude were measured simultaneously with surface ECG and blood pressure during induced arrhythmias. Haemodynamic instability was defined as a systolic pressure of <90 mmHg. There were 25 episodes of ventricular fibrillation (VF) induced in 15 patients, 18 episodes of ventricular tachycardia in 16 patients, and 33 episodes of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) in 16 patients. Compared with the baseline rhythm, mean Z amplitude reduced from 51.3 ± 7.7 to 11.2 ± 7.4 Ohm (P < 0.001) during VF, from 52.2 ± 6.3 to 21.7 ± 10.1 Ohm (P < 0.01) during haemodynamically unstable VT, from 55.0 ± 6.9 to 39.9 ± 11 Ohm (ns) during stable VT, and from 56.4 ± 8.4 to 36.9 ± 9.3 Ohm during SVT (P < 0.001).

Conclusion Right ventricular unipolar impedance is an adequate sensor for determining mechanical ventricular contraction and acts as a surrogate marker for a fall in arterial blood pressure during VF. However, for ventricular and supraventricular tachycardias, variations between patients did not allow adequate discrimination between stable and unstable arrhythmias.

Keywords: Unipolar intracardiac impedance; Ventricular fibrillation; Haemodynamic stability.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 EuropaceHome page
G. Kaye, D. Edgar, T. Mudawi, M. Lippert, and G. Czygan
Can transventricular intracardiac impedance measurement discriminate haemodynamically unstable ventricular arrhythmias in human?
Europace, February 1, 2007; 9(2): 122 - 126.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.