Natural history and clinical significance of arrhythmias after acute cardiac infarction.

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Abstract
The cardiac rhythm in 50 consecutive patients suffering from acute cardiac infarction was studied clinically and with continuous ecg monitoring. The central venous, or branchial arterial, pressure was recorded in 7 patients during an arrhythmia. Necropsies were obtained in 9 of the 12 patients who died. Injection of the coronary arterial tree after death was performed in 6, and special examination of the sinoatrial node and atrio -ventricular node and bundle was made in 7. The incidence, natural history, and clinical course of the arrhythmias after acute cardiac infarction are presented, with special emphasis on their hemodynamic effects. The arrhythmias were divided into certain broad clinical groups. Their etiology, in relation to prodromal extrasystoles and to the underlying pathology, is discussed. Finally, their prognosis and management are described.