Mechanisms and therapy of complex arrhythmias in pediatric patients.

In recent years, the distinction between the diagnostic and therapeutic techniques used in the assessment and management of pediatric and adult patients with arrhythmias has gradually blurred. Nonetheless, arrhythmias in the pediatric patient are still often different from the adult patient in one of two important ways. First, a variety of arrhythmia mechanisms remain relatively unique to the pediatric population, some because of developmental issues and others because of early presentation of an incessant tachycardia. Second, the presentation and management of certain arrhythmias is sometimes markedly affected by patient age or the presence of structural congenital heart disease. A sampling from each of the above categories is reviewed and discussed.