[Transesophageal electric heart stimulation in the diagnosis of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardias].

Thirty-one patients with paroxysms of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) were examined using trans-esophagus electrical stimulation of the left atrium. SVT paroxysms were provoked in 23 patients. An analysis of the esophagus electrogram recorded revealed SVT paroxysms in the presence of the latent Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome in 12 patients, orthodromic SVT in the presence of the WPW syndrome in seven, and paroxysmal reciprocal atrioventricular node tachycardia in four patients. Paroxysms were also induced in three out of 8 patients with atrial fibrillation. Two patients displayed a fall in the ST segment.