Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec 10:11:1517990.
doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2024.1517990. eCollection 2024.

Managing supraventricular tachyarrhythmia in pregnant patients within the emergency department

Di Pan #  1 , Zhongqing Chen #  2 , Haibo Chen  1
Affiliations

Managing supraventricular tachyarrhythmia in pregnant patients within the emergency department

Di Pan et al. Front Cardiovasc Med. .

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy increases the risk of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) due to physiological changes. This study reviews the management of SVT in pregnant patients in the emergency department (ED).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 15 pregnant patients with SVT treated at Shenzhen Second People's Hospital ED from 2015 to 2023. Treatments included vagal nerve stimulation, pharmacotherapy, esophageal pacing, cardioversion, and radiofrequency ablation.

Results: The average patient age was 30.3 years. All presented with palpitations, and none had hemodynamic instability. Treatment success varied: 3 patients reverted spontaneously, 5 responded to vagal stimulation, and 4 to esophageal pacing. One required verapamil, and another responded to labetalol after failing vagal and pacing treatments.

Conclusion: When managing SVT during pregnancy, it is important to consider the patient's stability, the stage of pregnancy, and the safety of medications. For unstable patients, electrical cardioversion is the preferred option; for stable patients, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) or other alternative treatments, such as adenosine, should be considered.

Keywords: arrhythmia treatment; emergency department; maternal cardiac care; pregnancy; tachycardia (SVT).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Electrocardiogram of SVT.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Regitz-Zagrosek V, Roos-Hesselink JW, Bauersachs J, Blomström-Lundqvist C, Cífková R, De Bonis M, et al. 2018 ESC guidelines for the management of cardiovascular diseases during pregnancy. Eur Heart J. (2018) 39(34):3165–241. 10.1093/eurheartj/ehy340 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Owens A, Yang J, Nie L, Lima F, Avila C, Stergiopoulos K. Neonatal and maternal outcomes in pregnant women with cardiac disease. J Am Heart Assoc. (2018) 7(21):e009395. 10.1161/JAHA.118.009395 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Clapp JF, 3rd, Capeless E. Cardiovascular function before, during, and after the first and subsequent pregnancies. Am J Cardiol. (1997) 80(11):1469–73. 10.1016/S0002-9149(97)00738-8 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Adamson DL, Nelson-Piercy C. Managing palpitations and arrhythmias during pregnancy. Heart. (2007) 93(12):1630–6. 10.1136/hrt.2006.098822 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sanghavi M, Rutherford JD. Cardiovascular physiology of pregnancy. Circulation. (2014) 130(12):1003–8. 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.009029 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources