Atrioventricular Blocks And Bundle Branch Blocks In Acute Miocardial Infarction

Background: Although atrioventricular (AV) blocks and bundle branch (BB) blocks are common complications of acute myocardial infarction (MI), patients characteristics and association with outcomes remain poorly defined.
Material and method: A prospective study of 341 consecutive patients admitted to the Clinic of Cardiology of the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases Târgu Mureș, from January 31, 2008 to December 31, 2010, with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Patients underwent routine clinical exam, lab tests, echocardiogram.
Results: The incidence of AV blocks complicating myocardial infarction was 10.85% and for BB blocks was 11.14%. Statistically significant correlations were found between AV blocks or BB blocks and age (p<0.01), arterial hypertension (p<0.02), and localization of myocardial infarction (p<0.001).
Conclusions: Post-MI blocks are more common in elderly patients (70–80 years and over), in patients with arterial hypertension and in case of inferior localization of the MI. However no statistically sifgnificant correlations were found between the occurance of conduction disorders post acute MI and some important risk factors such as diabetes, smoker satus or hypercholesterolemia.