The work of Zhao et al. has suggested that foetal AVB is far more complex than previously appreciated with complex changing rhythms, variable atrioventricular conduction in second-degree AVB,

abnormal QRS waveforms, co-existence of junctional and ventricular ectopy, and atrial and ventricular rate responsivity in complete AVB [29]. They observed the presence of junctional ectopic tachycardia or ventricular tachycardia in nearly one-third of foetuses with complete AVB they had examined, all requiring pacing at birth. Disease progression before birth was reflected in the escape rhythm, which deteriorated to a non-reactive pattern, particularly at rates of <56 beats per minute, often in association with intermittent QRS broadening and/or

tachycardia. selleck Junctional ectopic tachycardia and frequent ventricular ectopy were early predictors of more severe disease. On the basis of their observations, Zhao and colleagues https://www.selleckchem.com/screening/kinase-inhibitor-library.html speculated that ventricular tachycardia, junctional ectopic tachycardia and frequent ectopy may be characteristic of an acute stage of complete AVB and that their prevalence may relate to the severity of the disease during the acute phase. Through the use of magnetocardiography, their findings offer an insight into the dynamic disease process of foetal AVB that may no longer exist later in the disease. Several abnormalities of cardiac

conduction and rhythm have also been observed in the neonate. Prolongation of the QTc occurs in the presence of AVB in 15–22% of patients after birth and this may warrant both pacemaker and beta-blockade therapy [47, 48]. Sodium butyrate Whether prolonged QT interval in AVB represents the extent of myocardial damage analogous to the prolongation seen after myocardial infarction or is a functional phenomenon as suggested by Van Hare et al. [49] remains unclear. In the absence of AVB, transient QT prolongation has been reported in small cohorts of neonates with autoantibody-positive mothers, all resolving within the first year of life and without associated complications typical of other causes of prolonged QTc [50]. This has not been consistently demonstrated by others [51]. Sinus bradycardia has also been observed in neonates both in the presence and in the absence of AVB. Brucato and colleagues observed sinus bradycardia in 4 of 24 neonates within the first 3 days of life, all four of whom had spontaneous resolution by 2 weeks [52]. As is true for long QTc, this has not been confirmed in a larger investigation of Costedoat-Chalumeau et al. [51]. Finally, in the presence of AVB, junctional ectopic tachycardia has been reported in isolated cases and small series of affected neonates. Villain et al.