PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. and German researchers using a new animal model of genetic mutations say they've discovered some common anesthetics trigger arrhythmias in humans.
Researchers from Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Freiburg, Germany, said they developed a novel animal model to study what happens in humans with genetic mutations leading to arrhythmias and-or sudden cardiac death.
The mutations cause Long QT Syndrome, a disorder of the heart's electrical system. Researchers explain the QT interval is the time required by the heart's chambers to "repolarize," preparing the heart for another contraction cycle. An abnormally long QT interval can trigger arrhythmias, and cause sudden cardiac arrest.
"The animal model we have created is the first to be able to accurately predict the effects of various anesthetic agents when LQTS is present," said Dr. Gideon Koren, a Brown University professor of medicine and the study's senior author. "Also, our findings indicate some anesthetic agents can trigger arrhythmias." He said that for people who might have LQTS, "genotyping may be advisable in order to determine if there is a mutation … before selecting anesthetic agents."
The study appears in the online version of the journal Heart Circulation Physiology.
