Abstract
Background: Bradycardia and asystole episodes may be associated with sudden death in hemodialysis patients with end-stage renal disease, often occurring at long interdialytic break between dialysis sessions.
Objectives: To describe the characteristics of bradycardia and some related factors in renal failure patients undergoing dialysis at Bach Mai hospital.
Subjects & methods: 51 patients with renal failure undergoing dialysis at Bach Mai hospital and did not suffering an acute desease.
Results: Mean age was 54.4±12.7 years old; the proportion of women is higher than that of men (58.8% versus 41.2%); the median time on dialysis was 4,9 ± 3,4 years. The prevalance of bradyarrhythmias on the 24-hour Holter ECG was 21.57% (include 5 patients with heart rate <60 beats/min for >50% of the period, 4 patients have aystole episodes, 2 patients have bradycardia <40 beats/min for ≥ 4 beats). Atrial fibrillation occurred in 30% of patients with bradyarrhythmia (p=0.022). Patients with bradyarrhythmia may have no abnormalities on the 12-lead ECG.
Conclusions: Bradycardia and asystole episodes, which are common in hemodialysis patients for end-stage renal disease, suspected patient should be assessed at least by 24-hour Holter ECG rather than 12-lead ECG.