Cardiac Arrhythmias During Electroshock Therapy: Significance, Prevention, and Treatment
GERALD MCKENNA M.D.1,
RALPH P. ENGLE JR. M.D.2,
HAROLD BROOKS M.D.3, , and
JAMES DALEN M.D.4
1 Teaching fellow in psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass., Massachusetts Mental Health Center, 74 Fenwood Rd., Boston, Mass. 02139
2 Lecturer in psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass.
3 Instructor in medicine, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass.
4 Assistant professor of medicine, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass.
Respiratory acidosis and hypercapnia frequently accompany electroshock therapy (EST) and can be the cause of significant ventricular arrhythmias, which may have lethal sequelae in patients with coronary artery disease. The authors present measures to prevent these arrhythmias by hyperventilation with oxygen and ways to treat them if they occur.
