ADENOSINE AND SUPRAVENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA

ADENOSINE is an endogenous nucleoside that is capable of causing atrioventricular nodal conduction block in humans.1 Although the use of intravenous adenosine to terminate supraventricular arrhythmias was first described in 1933,2 it is only in the past 8 years that adenosine has been investigated in detail3 and only in the past 18 months that it has been approved for clinical use in the United States. Despite its relatively recent introduction into clinical practice, adenosine is increasingly being considered as an alternative to verapamil as first-line therapy to terminate paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia.4 5 6 7 The ability of adenosine to cause transient atrioventricular nodal. . . © 1991, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.