arrhythmia

As a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist and intensivist, many of my patients receive ventricular pacing at some point during their hospital admission. In the OR, many patients have epicardial right ventricular (RV) pacing implanted following cardiac...

Procainamide is a type IA antiarrhythmic which prolongs repolarization via sodium channel blockade. This is achieved by slowing conduction through the ventricular His-Purkinje system thereby widening the QRS complex (and ultimately the QT interval). As...

With the number of patients receiving permanent pacemakers (PPMs) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) increasing each year, we'll see more of these devices in our respective clinical settings. With this post, I'll try to simplify pacemaker nomenclature...

Adenosine is nucleoside that forms the backbone for energy substrates like ATP and signal transduction/second messenger systems like cyclic AMP. Clinically, it is used to convert supraventricular tachycardias that involve the atrioventricular (AV) node...

Amiodarone (Pacerone) is an antiarrhythmic that works by prolonging the myocardium's refractory period through potassium channel, sodium channel, calcium channel, and beta-blockade. Its side effects can be remembered by their effects on "PFTs, TFTs,...

Lidocaine (Xylocaine) is an amide local anesthetic I use all the time for procedures ranging from line and chest tube placement to peripheral nerve blocks and awake fiberoptic intubations. It works by moving into...