[Supraventricular tachyarrhythmia of recent onset in the absence of documented cardiac pathology: different therapeutic approaches].

The number of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias recently arisen among patients admitted to the Coronary Care Unit in Piombino, and the results of therapeutical interventions, have been estimated by analysing, retrospectively, the cases pertinent to the period February '84- October '87. Out of 1451 hospitalized patients, the supraventricular tachyarrhythmias were 145; 85 of them (46 F and 39 M, average age 63 +/- 14) with an assured cardiopathy and 60 of them (34 F and 26 M, average age 58 +/- 13) with no assured cardiopathy. The employed drugs, as a first choice, were verapamil, amiodarone or flecainide on the ground of study protocols in order to value their compared effectiveness. When amiodarone was not employed, as a first choice, in conformity with a specific protocol, it was utilized as a second choice after verapamil or flecainide. A DC shock was carried out in the case of pharmacological failure. Among the patients with an assured cardiopathy, the pharmacologically cardioversed ones turn out 55.3%; the spontaneously ones 9.4%; the ones treated by DC shock 14.1%; the non cardioversed ones 21.2%. Among the patients with no assured cardiopathy, the pharmacologically cardioversed ones turn out 78.3%; the spontaneously ones 5%; the treated by DC shock ones 11.7%; the non-cardioversed ones 5%. Therefore, the supraventricular tachyarrhythmias of recent onset make up nearly 10% of the hospitalizations into a Coronary Care Unit; the percentage of cardioversions in a sinusal rhythm with a pharmacological treatment reaches 95% in those patients with no assured cardiopathy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)