Ventricular Tachyarrhythmia in a Newborn Baby.

Abstract

Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a narrow QRS complex tachyarrhythmia with a heart rate above 220 beats per minute in infants and children. Ventricular tachycardia can be due to electrolyte abnormalities, cardiomyopathies, congenital heart disease, myocarditis or drug toxicity. Incidence has been estimated to be 1 in 250 to 1 in 1000 with spontaneous resolution in infants by one year of life. We present a full-term neonate who started experiencing a tachyarrhythmia on day zero of life until she reverted to sinus rhythm on day nine of life. The rhythm was most likely a ventricular tachyarrhythmia rather than supraventricular tachycardia due to its unresponsiveness to adenosine, wide QRS complexes, and lack of association with hemodynamic instability. This is a unique case presentation of a ventricular tachyarrhythmia for its diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, it's idiopathic nature and lack of association with any cardiac compromise, congenital heart disease or electrolyte imbalance.