Adenosine has been used in the emergency treatment of arrhythmia for more than nine decades. However, cardiologists are often unfamiliar about its basic mechanism and various diagnostic and therapeutic uses, considering it mainly as a therapeutic drug for supraventricular tachycardia. This article discusses the role of adenosine relevant to emergency physicians, cardiologists, and electrophysiologists. Understanding of the mechanisms of adenosine and its electrophysiological effects is discussed first, followed by dosing, side effects, diagnostic, and therapeutic uses. Finally, the role of adenosine in the electrophysiology laboratory is discussed.
Keywords: anti‐arrhythmic drugs; atrioventricular block; supraventricular tachycardia; ventricular tachycardia.
© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Arrhythmia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of the Japanese Heart Rhythm Society.