Ld. Thompson et al., POLYMORPHOUS VENTRICULAR-TACHYCARDIA FOLLOWING CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS, Journal of the National Medical Association, 88(1), 1996, pp. 49-51
A 62-year-old African-American man who underwent coronary artery bypas
s surgery was found to have repetitive ventricular tachycardia of the
''Torsade des pointes'' type. The arrhythmia was resistant to bretyliu
m, lidocaine, and pacing, but was controlled by intravenous magnesium
sulfate, The recurrent attacks were abolished by a bolus of 1 g magnes
ium sulfate and controlled using a 1 mg/minute drip for 12 hours,This
case shows the effectiveness of intravenous magnesium in controlling T
orsade des pointes in postoperative coronary bypass patients.