P5361Pregnancy in patients with cardiac arrhythmias

Abstract Introduction Negative trends in the state of somatic and reproductive health of the female population are observed in the last decades all over the world. On the background of declining birth rates, the problems of managing pregnancy in women with extragenital pathology become relevant. Aim To study the effects of cardiac arrhythmias and antiarrhythmic treatment on the course and outcomes of pregnancy. Material and methods A total of 55 case histories of pregnant women hospitalized in the Department of Interventional Arrhythmology. All patients signed informed consent to be enrolled in the study. The age of patients ranged from 17 to 41 years (mean age of 30.2±4.0 years). Patients were hospitalized on average at 28.0±6.4 weeks of gestation (from 12 to 37 weeks) and had some form of cardiac arrhythmia. Results Cardiac arrhythmias were idiopathic in 65% of cases; the rest of patients had verified cardiovascular diseases. Cardiac arrhythmias were registered in 41 (74%) of women prior to pregnancy and their arrhythmological history lasted for 7.9±1.1 years. Extrasystolic arrhythmia was the most common type of cardiac arrhythmias: ventricular premature beats occurred in 23 pregnant women (42%) including supraventricular premature beats in 8 patients (14%), supraventricular tachycardia in 12 patients (22%), and ventricular tachycardia (VT) in 5 women (9%). In three cases, VTs were hemodynamically significant. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of VT was performed in pregnant women at 26, 27, and 32 weeks of gestation. Five patients with gestational ages of 27–34 weeks received RFA for atrial tachycardia and atrioventricular (AV) reciprocal tachycardia to treat symptomatic intracardiac tachycardia (n=4) and continuous recurrent AV nodal tachycardia (n=1), paroxysms of which were accompanied by destabilization of hemodynamics. AV block was registered in 4 pregnant women (9%); sick sinus syndrome was diagnosed in 1 patient (2%). Implantation of pacemaker was required in 1 case for a second-degree AV block type II (Mobitz type II) at 24 weeks of pregnancy. RFA and pacemaker implantation were carried out with minimal or zero fluoroscopy and only after the 22nd week of pregnancy, that is, without or with reduced radiation risk to the fetus. 16 patients (29%) had cesarean section; the rest of patients had spontaneous vaginal delivery. The average Apgar scores were 8.64 immediately after birth and 9.35 five minutes after birth. Preterm births (n=2) were due to obstetric pathology and were not associated with cardiac arrhythmias. Cardiac arrhythmias were not observed in any patient in childbirth. Conclusions Cardiac arrhythmias, observed in patients, did not require termination of pregnancy. Catheter ablation for symptomatic, hemodynamically significant, and life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias made it possible to effectively guide pregnant women to delivery with a close follow-up.