ECT and Atrial Fibrillation: New Case Report

 Out on PubMed, from clinicians in Texas, is this case report:

Electroconvulsive Therapy-Induced Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation in Healthy Young Male.

Olsen B, Trent JS, Inman BL.Cureus. 2022 Nov 28;14(11):e31989. doi: 10.7759/cureus.31989. eCollection 2022 Nov.PMID: 36589202

The abstract is copied below:

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a widely used and highly effective treatment for psychiatric disorders. This is an overall safe option for the management of antidepressant-resistant depression; however, there are known possibilities of cardiac complications. The majority of documented cardiac-related complications due to ECT are found in patients who are middle-aged or older and generally have comorbidities, including prior myocardial infarction, known arrhythmias, hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, family history of cardiac disease, alcohol abuse, and smoking. We present a case of an overall healthy, 21-year-old male with no prior cardiac disease who developed paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) after a routine ECT treatment, his evaluation in the emergency department, treatment, and follow-up.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation (af); cardioversion; ect anesthesia; electroconvulsive therapy; paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

The pdf is here.

The full text is here:

This is a so-so case report. It's good to document rare cardiac events so that practitioners can be alert to them. But to list obesity as a risk factor for a fib, then say the patient was completely healthy, then say he was obese, is not particularly compelling. 

This is an opportunity to update our knowledge about a fib and be on the lookout for it.