Frequency of Arrhythmias and Conduction and Antiarrhythmic Efficacy of Upstream Therapy in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction with Comorbid Metabolic Syndrome and Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction

Abstract

Context. Cardiac arrhythmias and conduction disorders are the most common reperfusion complications in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) in both acute and late postinfarction periods, which significantly complicates the course of the disease and often leads to an unfavorable prognosis for the early and distant periods. Objective. To evaluate the frequency of arrhythmias and conduction and the antiarrhythmic efficacy of upstream therapy in patients with acute MI with comorbid metabolic syndrome (MS) and endothelial vascular dysfunction. Materials and methods. The experimental group consisted of 42 patients with acute myocardial infarction in combination with MS, who underwent urgent coronary angiography followed by balloon angioplasty and stenting of the infarct-dependent coronary artery, as well as standard drug therapy according to the MOH protocol. Patients in the experimental group also received 5 intravenous infusions of arginine-carnitine mixture (4.2 g and 2.0 g, respectively) in 100 ml of solvent. The nature of the clinical course of MI was compared with that in 38 patients with MI in combination with MS (control group), who did not receive additional treatment and were comparable in age (56.64 ± 0.91 and 54.85 ± 0.76 years, respectively). Results. It was found that patients with MI with comorbid MS on percutaneous coronary intervention most often developed reperfusion syndrome with manifestations of arrhythmias and conduction. Under the influence of standard drug treatment in patients of the control group there was a significant clinical and functional improvement, though sinus tachycardia, ventricular extrasystole of high grades and supraventricular extrasystole remained resistant to treatment. There was also a pronounced endothelial vascular dysfunction, which in the process of standard treatment in patients of the control group did not reach the level of healthy individuals (p-value less than 0.05). Conclusions. In patients with acute MI with comorbid MS, who underwent balloon angioplasty and stenting of the infarct-dependent coronary artery, a pronounced vascular endothelial dysfunction and electrical instability is observed, accompanied by reperfusion arrhythmias and arrhythmias. The use of arginine-carnitine mixture as upstream therapy helped to restore endothelial function and showed a pronounced antiarrhythmic effect, which significantly reduced the incidence and severity of complications of acute MI such as reperfusion arrhythmias.