Can lyme disease cause 1st degree AV block?

Question

How can you figure out if that was the cause and not a pre-existing condition?

Answer 1

This a great question and yes it is thought that Lyme Disease casued by the spirochete borrelia may lead to first degree atrioventricular (AV) block. Fortunately this is not likely to occur with Lyme Disease and when it does occur it is not likely to be a problem. Unfortunately unless you have had a previous electrocardiogram there is no way to determine whether or not the first degree AV block was preexisting. I am sure you know that it was the mother's (in Lyme, Connecticut) of children who had been diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (they turned out to have Lyme Disease) who banded together, contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, and taught all of us physicians a lesson. My mother who now lived near Hartford, Connecticut has had Lyme Disease and is without problems. I wrote a Family Practice Board Certification Question in 2001 about Lyme Disease and the answer was that treatment does not influence the risk of long term complications so there was no treatment that would have prevented this if it was due to Lyme Disease. Most people that develop Lyme Disease were not aware of a tick bite or a rash. As always I wish you the very best of luck and health. jermd

Answer 2

It's just one beat. In Wenkebach, there is a longer and longer PR interval until you get a P wave with one non-conducted beat (no QRS).