[Retrograde ventriculo-auricular heart conduction in 126 patients with or without supra-ventricular paroxysmal tachydardia, with or without ventricular preexcitation].

Ventriculo-atrial (VA) conduction was studied by ventricular stimulation at increasing rate and atrial mapping in 126 patients either without ventricular preexcitation (WPW) and supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) (Group I: 60 cases) or with the WPW syndrome with or without SVT (Group II: 30 cases) or with SVT without WPW (Group III: 53 cases) or with short PR intervals (Group IV: 3 cases). In Group I, 22 patients had VA block, 10 had concealed accessory pathways and 28 had nodal VA conduction. In Group II, 2 patients had VA block, 6 had nodal VA conduction and 22 had preferential retrograde conduction through the Kent bundle. In Group III, 9 patients had concealed Kent bundles and 24 had nodal retrograde conduction. In Group IV, the results were varied. The characteristics of retrograde VA conduction are therefore often different from those of anterograde conduction. 52 attacks of SVT were recorded; in the 18 cases of Group II, 5 septal, 3 right lateral, 8 left lateral Kent bundles and 2 intranodal reentries were demonstrated. In the 33 cases of SVT without overt WPW (Group III) a concealed accessory pathway was demonstrated in 9 cases. In all, approximately a half (25 out of 52) of all SVT were due to reentry involving an accessory pathway which was concealed in about one third of cases (9 out of 25) and more often situated on the left border than on the right or in the septum.