Idiopathic ventricular fibrillation with fragmented QRS complex and J wave in resting electrocardiogram

Objective To describe the clinical characteristics of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation （IVF） with fragmented QRS complex （f-QRS） and J wave in resting electrocardiogram. Methods We reviewed data from 21 case subjects in our hospital who were resuscitated after cardiac arrest due to IVF and assessed the prevalence of f-QRS and J wave in resting electrocardiogram （ECG）. All the case subjects were classified among three groups based on the electrocardiographic morphology： group I, both f-QRS and J wave were observed （n = 6）, group II, only J wave was observed （n = 9）, group III, neither f-QRS nor J wave was observed （n = 6）. Population characteristics, history of syncope or sudden cardiac arrest, incidence of ventricular fibrillation （VF）, and circumstance of VF were evaluated among the three groups. Results The incidence of index events （syncope, survived cardiac arrest and VF episodes recorded in implantable cardioverter defibrillator （ICD） or pacemakers） was 13.4 ~ 5.6 per-year in group I, 10.8 ~ 3.9 per-year in group II, and 9.8 -4- 4.2 per-year in group HI. There were significant differences in incidences among the three groups, the most frequent index events were observed in group I. The hazard ratio for incidence was 3.2 （95%CI, 1.1-7.9; P = 0.01）. The history and circumstance of the index events were different among the groups. In group I, all the index events occurred during sleep in early morning. In group II, four subjects suffered VF during strenuous physical activities or agitation state, two during sleep in early morning, three in usual activity. In group III, one subject suffered VF during sleep in early morning, one in agitation state, four in usual activity. Conclusions This study suggests that the IVF patients with the combined appearance of f-QRS and J wave in the resting ECG suffer an increased risk of VF, this subgroup of IVF patients has a unique clinical feature.

Molecular Mechanisms of Increased Heart Rate in Shenxianshengmai-treated Bradycardia Rabbits

Background： The molecular mechanisms of Shenxianshengmai （SXSM）, a traditional Chinese medicine, on bradycardia have been incompletely understood. The study tried to investigate the gene expression profile and proteomics of bradycardia rabbits hearts after SXSM treatment. Methods： Twenty-four adult rabbits were randomly assigned in four groups： sham, model, model plus SXSM treatment, and sham plus SXSM treatment groups. Heart rate was recorded in all rabbits. Then, total RNA of atria and proteins of ventricle were isolated and quantified, respectively. Gene expression profiling was conducted by gene expression chip, and quantitative real-time reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） was performed to confirm the results of gene expression chip. We used isobaric tags for elative and absolute quantitation and Western blotting to identify altered proteins after SXSM treatment. Results： There was a constant decrease in the mean heart rate （32%, from 238 ± 6 beats/min to 149± 12 beats/min） after six weeks in model compared with that in sham group. This effect was partially reversed by 4-week SXSM treatment. Complementary DNA microarray demonstrated that the increased acetylcholinesterase and reduced nicotinic receptor were take responsibility for the increased heart rate. In addition, proteins involved in calcium handling and signaling were affected by SXSM treatment. Real-time RT-PCR verified the results from gene chip. Results from proteomics demonstrated that SXSM enhanced oxidative phosphorylation and tricarboxylic acid （TCA） cycle in ventricular myocardium to improve ATP generation. Conclusions： Long-term SXSM stimulates sympathetic transmission by increasing the expression of acetylcholinesterase and reduces the expression of nicotinic receptor to increase heart rate. SXSM also restored the calcium handling genes and altered genes involved in signaling. In addition, SXSM improves the ATP supply of ventricular myocardium by increasing proteins involved in TCA cycle and oxidation-respiratory chain.