The impact of right ventricular infarction on the prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias during acute inferior myocardial infarction

To determine the impact of RV infarction on the prevalence and complexity of ventricular arrhythmias during inferior AMI, 57 patients with no prior MI were studied by 24-hour Holter monitoring on the first and tenth days of AMI. Based on radionuclear studies, patients were allocated into two groups: (1) group A, 21 patients (37 percent) with normal RVEF (greater than or equal to 40 percent); and (2) group B, 36 patients (63 percent) with depressed RVEF (less than 40 percent). There were no significant differences between the groups regarding age and LVEF. Values of RVEF were 47 +/- 6 percent and 31 +/- 6 percent, respectively (p less than 0.05). The RVEF had no influence on the prevalence and complexity of early and late arrhythmias. Stratification of patients in group B into two subgroups based on the extent of RV dysfunction did not reveal any differences in the occurrence of all forms of ectopy (when both groups were matched to group A). Therefore, patients with inferior AMI, with or without RV infarction, have a similar prevalence of arrhythmias. Ventricular ectopic beats may be related to the severity and spread of LV involvement, rather than to RV dysfunction.