2026 Annual Meeting, presented by IARS and SOCCA

This is a challenging question that few people answer correctly! Most anesthesiologists do not know that QT prolongation is strongly associated with an increased risk for malignant ventricular arrhythmias in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Patients who have suffered SAH frequently have ECG changes and arrhythmias. Common rhythms include sinus bradycardia, atrial fibrillation and sinus tachycardia. ECG changes most often involve repolarization abnormalities involving the ST segment, T wave, U wave and a prolonged QT interval. A prolonged QT interval in the patient with SAH places them at higher risk for malignant arrhythmias such as ventricular tachycardia, torsades de pointes and ventricular fibrillation.