Korean Circ J.  2013 Dec;43(12):839-841. 10.4070/kcj.2013.43.12.839.

Ventricular Fibrillation in a Patient with Tachycardia-Induced Cardiomyopathy after Liver Transplantation

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Cardiology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea. mdjunkim@gmail.com

Abstract

We report a case of atrial fibrillation-related tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy and ventricular fibrillation after liver transplantation in a 41-year-old man with end-stage liver failure. Atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure occurred postoperatively. Cardiac arrests due to ventricular fibrillation occurred 6 months after the operation with subsequent implantations of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. Ventricular arrhythmias did not recur during the 18 months after normalization of heart functions with guideline-directed medical treatments.

Keyword

Atrial fibrillation; Ventricular fibrillation; Liver transplantation; Heart failure

MeSH Terms

Adult
Arrhythmias, Cardiac
Atrial Fibrillation
Cardiomyopathies*
Defibrillators, Implantable
Heart
Heart Arrest
Heart Failure
Humans
Liver Failure
Liver Transplantation*
Liver*
Tachycardia
Ventricular Fibrillation*

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Serial M-mode echocardiograms of the left ventricle of the patient, taken at the first postoperative day (A) shows atrial fibrillation (heart rate 94 beat per minute), 9 weeks after orthotopic liver transplantation (B) shows atrial fibrillation (heart rate 109 beat per minute), 6 months after liver transplantation (C) with sinus rhythm (heart rate 89 beat per minute), and 8 months (D) after implantation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator with sinus rhythm (heart rate 63 beat per minute). LVEDD: left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, LVESD: left ventricular end-systolic dimension, LVEF: left ventricular ejection fraction.


Reference

1. Christians KK, Wu B, Quebbeman EJ, Brasel KJ. Postoperative atrial fibrillation in noncardiothoracic surgical patients. Am J Surg. 2001; 182:713–715.
2. Nerheim P, Birger-Botkin S, Piracha L, Olshansky B. Heart failure and sudden death in patients with tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy and recurrent tachycardia. Circulation. 2004; 110:247–252.
3. Dec GW, Kondo N, Farrell ML, Dienstag J, Cosimi AB, Semigran MJ. Cardiovascular complications following liver transplantation. Clin Transplant. 1995; 9:463–471.
4. Fouad TR, Abdel-Razek WM, Burak KW, Bain VG, Lee SS. Prediction of cardiac complications after liver transplantation. Transplantation. 2009; 87:763–770.
5. Sakai T, Planinsic RM, Hilmi IA, Marsh JW. Complications associated with percutaneous placement of venous return cannula for venovenous bypass in adult orthotopic liver transplantation. Liver Transpl. 2007; 13:961–965.
6. Chung M, Muntyan I. Atrial fibrillation during veno-venous bypass for orthotopic liver transplantation. J Clin Anesth. 2011; 23:428–429.
7. Huffman C, Wagman G, Fudim M, Zolty R, Vittorio T. Reversible cardiomyopathies--a review. Transplant Proc. 2010; 42:3673–3678.
8. Lee HR, Hurst RT, Vargas HE. Transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome (Takotsubo cardiomyopathy) following orthotopic liver transplantation. Liver Transpl. 2007; 13:1343–1345.
9. Tachotti Pires LJ, Cardoso Curiati MN, Vissoci Reiche F, et al. Stressinduced cardiomyopathy (takotsubo cardiomyopathy) after liver transplantation-report of two cases. Transplant Proc. 2012; 44:2497–2500.
10. Fujino T, Yamashita T, Suzuki S, et al. Characteristics of congestive heart failure accompanied by atrial fibrillation with special reference to tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy. Circ J. 2007; 71:936–940.
11. Redfield MM, Kay GN, Jenkins LS, Mianulli M, Jensen DN, Ellenbogen KA. Tachycardia-related cardiomyopathy: a common cause of ventricular dysfunction in patients with atrial fibrillation referred for atrioventricular ablation. Mayo Clin Proc. 2000; 75:790–795.
12. Lishmanov A, Chockalingam P, Senthilkumar A, Chockalingam A. Tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy: evaluation and therapeutic options. Congest Heart Fail. 2010; 16:122–126.
13. Kanji S, Stewart R, Fergusson DA, McIntyre L, Turgeon AF, Hébert PC. Treatment of new-onset atrial fibrillation in noncardiac intensive care unit patients: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Crit Care Med. 2008; 36:1620–1624.
14. von Vital JM, Karachristos A, Singhal A, Thomas R, Jain A. Acute amiodarone hepatotoxicity after liver transplantation. Transplantation. 2011; 91:e62–e64.
15. Joghetaei N, Weirich G, Huber W, Büchler P, Estner H. Acute liver failure associated with dronedarone. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2011; 4:592–593.
16. Hsu LF, Jaïs P, Sanders P, et al. Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in congestive heart failure. N Engl J Med. 2004; 351:2373–2383.
Full Text Links
  • KCJ
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr