[Cardiac asystole in the postanesthetic care unit: a case report].

: We report a patient without apparent heart disease who developed asystole postoperatively. A 24-year-old woman was scheduled for acetabulectomy under lumbar epidural anesthesia with intravenous propofol infusion. There was no profound hypotension or arrhythmia during anesthesia and surgery. She complained of nausea 50 minutes after the operation. The ECG showed an abrupt decrease in the heart rate followed by cardiac asystole 30 seconds after the onset of nausea. Prompt cardiac massage resumed the heart beats in eight seconds. There was no neurological deficit.