[Arrhythmias in acute coronary heart disease].

Almost any arrhythmia can occur as a complication of an acute coronary event. Many of them are frequent, but ventricular arrhythmias are predominant; supraventricular arrhythmias and conduction disturbances are only briefly reviewed in this article. Ventricular arrhythmias are important not only if they occur during the acute phase of a myocardial infarction but also when they are an acute symptom of coronary artery disease in themselves without evidence of myocardial necrosis. This article deals with the pathogenesis of ventricular arrhythmias, the factors influencing arrhythmias, the concept of warning premature beats, and prophylaxis and therapy in hospital as well as in the prehospital phase. In hospitalized patients these arrhythmias usually can be treated without major difficulty, but in the prehospital phase a further reduction of mortality probably could be achieved by suitable measures.