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HCMC_P_049062 - Hennepin County Medical Center

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Case Reports<br />

Figure Two. The cardiac monitor strip showing a wide complex<br />

tachycardia, likely AIVR<br />

Figure Three. The Inspiratory<br />

Threshold Device<br />

Figure Four. The ResQPump ®<br />

and stents were placed at each lesion. Following<br />

PCI, an intra-aortic balloon pump was placed due to<br />

cardiogenic shock with elevated left ventricular enddiastolic<br />

pressure and resulting pulmonary edema.<br />

(This has since been shown to be ineffective in<br />

cardiogenic shock in STEMI.) 1<br />

The patient developed an intermittent wide complex<br />

rhythm which at first was interpreted as ventricular<br />

tachycardia (VT) (Figure Two). He was started briefly<br />

on amiodarone and it was subsequently stopped<br />

when the rhythm was reassessed. The diagnosis of<br />

VT was not certain because of a relatively slow heart<br />

rate. Instead, an accelerated idioventricular rhythm<br />

(AIVR) was considered. AIVR is differentiated from<br />

ventricular tachycardia by the heart rate: AIVR is < 120<br />

bpm, while ventricular tachycardia is almost always ><br />

120 bpm. AIVR is a common reperfusion dysrhythmia<br />

and is good evidence of reperfusion of STEMI (in<br />

other words, a good sign). It does not require any<br />

treatment unless associated with hypotension.<br />

By 24 hours, the balloon pump could be removed.<br />

Serial troponin I peaked at 13.7 ng/ml, which is far<br />

lower than expected for a STEMI of this size and<br />

suggests that total occlusion time was brief. Initial<br />

transthoracic echocardiogram on day 2 showed an<br />

ejection fraction (EF) of 15-20% (normal, 65-70%);<br />

with septal and apical wall motion abnormalities<br />

(WMA). Thus, as is usual, the myocardium was<br />

“stunned,” though not all infarcted. The EF greatly<br />

improved by 2 days later, when a repeated<br />

echocardiogram revealed an EF 35% and<br />

corresponding improvement in WMA.<br />

At 48 hours, the patient had completed the<br />

hypothermia protocol without complication and was<br />

extubated, at which time he was following simple<br />

commands but had anterograde amnesia. By 72<br />

hours, his neurological status had greatly improved;<br />

anterograde amnesia was resolving but there was no<br />

memory of events. He recovered fully and was<br />

discharged on prasugrel, aspirin, lisinopril, carvedilol,<br />

atorvastatin, and eplerenone. After cardiac<br />

rehabilitation, his ejection fraction returned to normal<br />

and he was again able to bike 50 miles at a time. He<br />

has had no further symptoms.<br />

Discussion<br />

More information on Compression Decompression<br />

CPR, the Inspiratory Threshold Device, and the<br />

LUCAS device is available at http://www.naph.org/<br />

Homepage-Sections/Explore/Innovations/Heart-<br />

Health/<strong>Hennepin</strong>-<strong>County</strong>-<strong>Medical</strong>-<strong>Center</strong>.aspx.<br />

In January 2011, investigators, including several from<br />

<strong>HCMC</strong>, published the results of a randomized trial<br />

comparing compression-decompression CPR to<br />

standard CPR in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and<br />

found that 74 (9%) of 840 patients survived to 1 year<br />

in the intervention group compared with 48 (6%) of<br />

813 controls (p=0·03), with equivalent cognitive skills,<br />

disability ratings, and emotional-psychological status<br />

in both groups. 2 In the compression-decompression<br />

group, first responders used both the ITD (ResQPod ® ),<br />

(Figure Three) and a specially designed compressiondecompression<br />

device called the ResQPump ®<br />

(Figure Four). The ResQPump ® has a suction cup<br />

that attaches to the chest, and when pulled up<br />

forcefully, may create 30 pounds of negative<br />

pressure in the chest, augmenting the pumping<br />

action of the chest. The ITD is placed on the<br />

endotracheal tube and has a valve that stays closed<br />

for a fraction of a second, preventing that negative<br />

pressure from drawing air down the endotracheal<br />

tube, ensuring that there will be negative pressure to<br />

draw blood into the chest and into the heart, for<br />

further pumping out to the body with each<br />

compression. The two together, then, increased<br />

survival with good neurologic outcome (Modified<br />

Rankin Score of 3 or less) by 50%.<br />

The LUCAS device (Figure Five) combines<br />

mechanical compression that is uniform and does not<br />

fatigue with suction for decompression, but with less<br />

suction. It provides 2 inches of chest compression at<br />

4 | Approaches in Critical Care | January 2013

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