Significance of Ectopic Beats in Post Aortic Valve Replacement Arrhythmia Patients

Abstract

Objective: The incidence of new onset arrhythmia after conventional aortic valve replacement (AVR) is relatively high whereby atrial fibrillation (AF) in particular (30-40%). Arrhythmias increase postoperative morbidity, mortality and consequently health costs. The need for a reliable method for early detection and discrimination between low and high risk patients is therefore indispensable. For this reason this study examined the possible correlation between electrophysiological abnormalities on continuous ECG recordings and the initiation of arrhythmia directly after surgery. Methods and Results: Both ECG and clinical data was collected from the hospitals filing system for all patient (n=107) who underwent surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (AVR) for non-rheumatic aortic valve stenosis or insufficiency for the period from January 2010 to December 2018.  Continuous ECG data was converted into ISHNE-format and analyzed by using Synescope™ software. Data showed that one minute prior to arrhythmia, AF in particular, an increase of both supraventricular premature beats (SVPB) and missed beats (MB) was detected (n=33; P<0,05). However there was no correlation between arrhythmia and the overall SVPB incidence (n=33). Twenty-one out of 33 AVR patients developed a de novo intraventricular conductance delay directly after cardioplegic arrest, which persisted in 7 cases. Conclusions: Although there is an increase of both SVPB and MB prior to arrhythmia startup, it is still questionable what is the true predictive value of these findings are. Additionally it appeared that a temporarily intraventricular conduction delay (IVCD) is a common finding after AVR.