Objective:

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided stellate ganglion block (SGB) as a rescue therapy for refractory ventricular arrhythmias and one case of rapid atrial flutter following acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Approach:

Key Findings:

• SGB successfully aborted electrical storm in all 5 patients (100%).
• Median number of defibrillations per patient decreased significantly from 4 (IQR: 2.5–21) before SGB to 0 (IQR: 0–1) after SGB.
• Ipsilateral Horner syndrome developed in all cases, confirming successful sympathetic blockade.
• No procedure-related complications were observed.

Interpretation:

SGB is a safe and effective bedside intervention for terminating and stabilizing refractory sympathetic arrhythmia in post-AMI patients.

Limitations:

• Small sample size of only five patients.
• Retrospective nature of the study limits generalizability.

Conclusion:

SGB can serve as an important adjunctive therapy to reduce the need for repeated electrical defibrillation in patients with refractory arrhythmias post-AMI.

Source

Based on findings from:

Ultrasound-guided stellate ganglion block for refractory sympathetically mediated arrhythmia following acute myocardial infarction: a tutorial and examples

Ranwei Yao, Yingjie Che, Xiuling Wu. Frontiers In Cardiovascular Medicine, 2026.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2026.1846647/full

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