Adenosine and its cardiovascular effects

Abstract

Adenosine is an endogenous purine metabolite with negative chronotropic effects on the sinus node and negative dromotropic effects on the atrioventricular node. It has recently become widely used for the treatment at paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. The ability of adenosine to depress atrioventricular nodal conduction makes it an effective means of terminating supraventricular tachycardia that requires the atrioventricular node as part of a reentrant circuit. The ability to cause transient atrioventricular block makes it useful in the diagnosis of certain dysrhythmias. The therapeutic and diagnostic advantages of adenosine over other drugs is that it acts rapidly and has a very short half-life.