Journal of Nuclear Cardiology

, Volume 21, Issue 5, pp 862–868 | Cite as

Asystole following regadenoson infusion in stable outpatients

  • Jeffrey Rosenblatt
  • Deirdre Mooney
  • Timothy Dunn
  • Mylan Cohen
Original Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Regadenoson is a selective A2A receptor agonist approved for use as a pharmacologic stress agent for myocardial perfusion imaging after several multicenter trials demonstrated its equivalence in diagnostic accuracy for the detection of coronary artery disease and a decreased incidence of serious side effects as compared to adenosine. Recently, the FDA released a safety announcement advising of the rare but serious risk of heart attack and death associated with regadenoson and adenosine in cardiac stress testing, particularly in patients with unstable angina or cardiovascular instability. We report two cases of asystole with hemodynamic collapse in stable outpatients soon after receiving a standard regadenoson injection. The prevalence of potentially life threatening bradycardia, including asystole, associated with the use of regadenoson may be greater than previously expected. These cases highlight the need for cardiac stress labs to anticipate the potential for serious side effects with all patients during the administration of coronary vasodilators.

Keywords

A2A adenosine receptor agonists pharmacologic stress vasodilator stress adenosine 
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Copyright information

© American Society of Nuclear Cardiology 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Jeffrey Rosenblatt
    • 1
    • 2
  • Deirdre Mooney
    • 1
  • Timothy Dunn
    • 2
  • Mylan Cohen
    • 1
    • 2
  1. 1.Maine Medical Center, Department of Cardiac ServicesTufts University School of MedicinePortlandUSA
  2. 2.Maine Medical Partners Maine Health CardiologySouth PortlandUSA

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