The Therapeutic and Diagnostic Cardiac Electrophysiological Uses of Adenosine

Adenosine is a purine nucleoside with a rapid onset and brief duration of action after intravenous bolus administration. Its most prominent cardiac effect is impairment or blockade of atrioventricular nodal conduction, but other effects are depression of automaticity of the sinus node and attenuation of catecholamine-related ventricular after-depolarizations. The cardiac cell surface receptor is the A1 purinoceptor. The therapeutic value of adenosine is predominantly in those arrhythmias in which the atrioventricular node forms part of a reentry circuit, as clearly demonstrated by the high success rate for termination of atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia and of atrioventricular reentry tachycardia involving an accessory pathway in the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Ventricular tachycardias are generally unresponsive, with the exception of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia. A diagnostic role has emerged for adenosine. The transient blockade of the atrioventricular node that it causes can reveal important electrocardiographic features in arrhythmias, such as atrial flutter, or can unmask latent preexcitation. In wide-QRS tachycardias, adenosine can help to distinguish ventricular tachycardia from supraventricular tachycardia with QRS aberration. Unlike verapamil, adenosine is safe in ventricular tachycardia. A suggested dosing scheme is to give incremental doses at 1-minute intervals, starting at 0.05 mg/kg and continuing until complete atrioventricular block is induced or a maximum of 0.25 mg/kg is reached. Side effects are transient, sometimes uncomfortable, and not hazardous; dyspnea and chest discomfort are most frequent. A history of asthma is a relative contraindication. Aminophylline antagonizes and dipyridamole potentiates the effects of adenosine.