VENTRIKULARE HERZRHYTHMUSSTORUNGEN VOR UND NACH AORTOKORONARER BYPASSOPERATION

60 patients underwent 24-hour Holter monitoring before and 3 weeks after aortocoronary bypass surgery; in 19 of these patients, further Holter monitoring was carried out after 6 and/or 12 months. None of these patients received antiarrhythmic drug treatment. In the preoperative study 55 patients showed less than 720 VES/24 hours. The majority of these patients exhibited only minor rhythm disturbances before and after bypass surgery, or did not show any changes between the two measurements. In about 10% of patients, there was a clear increase of VES 3 weeks after surgery which diminished again in the following measurements at 6 and 12 months. The most likely reason for this development seems to be postoperative pericarditis. Of the 5 patients with more than 720 VES/24 hours in preoperative Holter monitoring, 3 showed a substantial reduction of arrhythmia, which remained stable in the succeeding measurements. Thus, in some cases chronic ischemia can lead to rhythm disturbances which are curable by bypass surgery.