Ventricular arrhythmias in patients recovering from myocardial infarction: Do residual myocardial ischemia and anti‐ischemic medical intervention influence the one‐month prevalence?

The relationship between myocardial ischemia revealed by exercise testing and ventricular arrhythmias on Holter monitoring, and the effect of anti‐ischemic intervention on the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with residual ischemia were studied in 125 patients recovering from myocardial infarction. Prior to discharge exercise testing and 24‐h Holter monitoring were carried out In patients with ST‐segment depression (n = 34), ventricular arrhythmias on Holter monitoring were seen in 7 (21%) compared with 20 (22%) patients without ST‐segment depression (NS). Patients were hereafter double‐blindly randomized to intervention with verapamil (n = 63) or placebo (n = 62). One month after discharge, 24‐h Holter monitoring was repeated. In the verapamil group ventricular arrhythmias increased from 25 to 33% (NS). In the placebo group the figures were 18 and 27%, respectively (NS). In patients with ST‐segment depression and verapamil treatment, the prevalence increased from 25 to 38% (NS). In the placebo group the figures were 17 and 22%, respectively (NS). The differences between the groups were not significant. A significantly increased prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias was found in patients with either heart failure or non‐Q‐wave infarct. In these patients myocardial ischemia during exercise did not correlate with ventricular arrhythmias either. ST‐segment depression during predischarge exercise testing correlated with neither the prevalence nor the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias, and anti‐ischemic intervention with verapamil did not influence the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias in both patients with and without myocardial ischemia.