Irregular heartbeat during angioplasty could raise death risk

People treated for heart attack who experience abnormal heart rhythms during artery-opening procedures such as angioplasty may be at increased risk of death, a new study suggests. The finding could challenge current cardiac care guidelines, experts say. The study focused on patients who had heartbeat abnormalities called ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation when they underwent what is formally called a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) - such as angioplasty with or without stent placement - for heart attack. Patients who experienced these cardiac arrhythmias during the procedure had about triple the odds of dying within 90 days as those whose hearts beat normally, the researchers found. "Arrhythmias have a significant impact on longer-term survival," concluded study author Dr. Rajendra H. Mehta, an associate consulting professor of medicine at Duke University in Durham, N.C. His team published the findings in the May 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association - HealthDay