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Electrical Safety During Electrophysiological Testing
Author(s) -
RUBIN STANLEY A.,
NALOS PETER C.,
SOLINGEN SIMON,
WHITING JAMES,
GANG ELI
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.1988.tb04560.x
Subject(s) - medicine , electrophysiology , catheter , cardiology , blackout , surgery , power (physics) , electric power system , physics , quantum mechanics
This report describes the inadvertent induction of non‐sustained atrial and ventricular arrhythmias due to the malfunction of a programmable cardiac stimulator. The malfunction occurred when line power resumed after a brief municipal power outage (“blackout”) during an invasive eiectrophysiological study. The stimulator spontaneously delivered very high frequency pulses through the electrode catheter to the myocardium which resulted in atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. During bench testing, the stimulator delivered a continuous train of high frequency output pulses (≥1 mA) when line voltage resumed normal level after it had dropped below 65 VAC. Electrical safety during electrophysiological testing requires a stimulator design which is immune to altered operating conditions, and which shuts down if abnormal operating or output conditions are detected.