Changes in Heart Rhythm and Breathing in Acute Systemic Injury Due to Cold

• Main Authors: D. Yu. Konnov, T. Yu. Konnova, S. A. Lukyanov, K. G. Shapovalov
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Russian Academy of Medical Sciences 2015-07-01
• Series: Obŝaâ Reanimatologiâ
• Subjects: acute systemic injury due to cold; 24-hour ecg monitoring; high
• Online Access: https://www.reanimatology.com/rmt/article/view/1461

Objective: to reveal the patterns of a change in heart rhythm and breathing in patients with acute systemic injury due to cold in hypothermic and early posthypothermic periods.Subjects and methods. Thirty patients aged 18 to 60 years (3 groups of 10 patients with mild, moderate, and severe cold injury) were examined in hypothermic and posthypothermic periods. The patient groups did not differ in gender, age, and weight. Within the first 24 hours after admission, all the patients underwent high-resolution Holter electrocardiographic monitoring that recorded cardiac arrhythmias and breathing disorders.Results. During the therapy performed, as the degree of acute systemic cold injury increased, the patients were found to have a heart rate reduction (from 102 [90; 122] beats/min in Group 1 to 49 [38; 58] beats/min in Group 3) and a circadian index increase (from 105 [88; 125]% in Group 1 to 210 [185; 223]% in Group 3). With increased hypothermia, the victims were detected to have progressive cardiac rhythm and cardiac electrical conduction disturbances, such as supraventricular pacemaker migration, single and paired supraventricular premature beats, paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, atrial fibrillations, and ventricular premature beats. There was decreased heart rhythm variability in all the study groups, to the greatest extent in the patents with severe systemic cold injury. Late ventricular potentials were found in 2 and 7 patients with moderate and severe cold injury, respectively. Breathing disorders were recorded in all the study groups, the greatest increase in the frequency and duration of apnea/hypopnea episodes was noted in the patients with severe hypothermia. A fatal outcome occurred in 4 of the 10 patients with critical hypothermia due to the occurrence of idioventricular rhythm with transition to asystole.Conclusion. Systemic hypothermia is accompanied by cardiac rhythm and cardiac electrical conduction disturbances and respiratory depression, which progress with the higher degree of acute systemic cold injury and, in case of critical hypothermia, may lead to a fatal outcome.