Further observations on transient entrainment: importance of pacing site and properties of the components of the reentry circuit

Abstract

Transient entrainment of circus-movement tachycardia utilizing an atrioventricular (AV) bypass pathway was studied in 13 patients (nine with the orthodromic form, two with the antidromic form, and two with both the orthodromic and antidromic forms). All patients had a left-sided AV bypass pathway. Pacing at selected rates faster than the spontaneous rate was performed during the tachycardia at a site proximal or distal to the AV node, an area of slow conduction within the reentry loop. Rapid pacing from a site proximal to the AV node (from the right atrium during the orthodromic form of the arrhythmia or the right ventricle during the antidromic form of the arrhythmia) always demonstrated at least one of the three entrainment criteria: constant fusion beats except for the last captured beat, which was entrained but not fused (first criterion); progressive fusion (second criterion); localized conduction block to a site(s) for 1 paced beat associated with interruption of the tachycardia followed by activation of that site(s) by the next paced beat from a different direction and with a shorter conduction time (third criterion). In contrast, rapid pacing from a site distal to the AV node (from the right ventricle during the orthodromic form of the arrhythmia, or the right atrium during the antidromic form of the arrhythmia) transiently entrained the tachycardia, but never demonstrated any entrainment criteria because the antidromic wave front from the pacing impulse always blocked in the AV node (concealed entrainment). We conclude that the location of the pacing site relative to the components of a reentry loop is critical to the demonstration of the criteria of transient entrainment; i.e., if it is proximal to an area of slow conduction and/or unidirectional block within a reentry loop, transient entrainment should be demonstrable, but if it is distal, it will not be demonstrable.