A Comparative Study of Intracoronary Iced Saline Versus Intracoronary Antiarrhythmic Drugs to Identify the Ventricular Tachycardia-Related Artery

Identifying the Tachycardia-Related Coronary Artery. Introduction: Transcatheter chemical ablation is a new treatment option for patients with ventricular tachycardia. Availability of a safe, simple, and sensitive method to identify the ventricular tachycardia-related artery is required for successful intracoronary chemical ablation for ventricular tachycardia. The purpose of this study was to compare bolus intracoronary iced saline injection to bolus intracoronary antiarrhythmic drug injection as methods for identifying the ventricular tachycardia-related coronary artery. Methods and Results: Patient selection was limited to eight individuals with recurrent sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia, coronary artery disease, remote myocardial infarction, and in whom programmed stimulation could reproducihiy induce the clinical arrhythmia. An infusion catheter was positioned in the putative ventricular tachycardia-related artery and ventricular tachycardia was provoked hy programmed stimulation. In four patients the putative ventricular tachycardia-related artery was a patent infarct-related vessel and in the other four patients was a vessel supplying collateral flow to an occluded infarct-related artery. The effects of selective intracoronary iced saline bolus injection (10 mL), and then of selective intracoronary bolus antiarrhythmic drug injection (2.5 mg lidocaine in one patient, procainamide 1.0–9.0 mg in seven patients) were observed. Bolus intracoronary iced saline injection did not alter ventricular tachycardia in any patient. Bolus intracoronary antiarrhythmic drug injection, however, led to ventricular tachycardia cycle length prolongation in two patients and arrhythmia termination in four patients. In two of these individuals, infusion of ethanol into the tachycardia-related vessel previously identified by intracoronary drug injection resulted in ablation of the ventricular tachycardia. Conclusions: In the present study, selective intracoronary antiarrhythmic drug injection appeared to be more effective than intracoronary iced saline for identifying the ventricular Uchycardia-related coronary artery, (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 3, pp. 199–208 June 1992)     

Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia initiated by catecholamine-induced ventricular tachycardia. A case report

The authors describe a patient who experienced recurrent wide-complex and narrow-complex tachycardias during exercise. Electrophysiologic testing in the resting state revealed dual atrioventricular (AV) nodal pathways. AV nodal reentrant tachycardia was inducible by ventricular premature stimulation but was always nonsustained, terminating with block in the anterograde slow pathway. During isoproterenol infusion, runs of ventricular tachycardia occurred frequently, and spontaneously initiated sustained AV nodal reentrant tachycardia. Exercise testing also provoked ventricular tachycardia and sustained AV nodal reentrant tachycardia. The patient was effectively treated with a combination of atenolol and verapamil. This case is an unusual example of a catecholamine-induced arrhythmia, possibly due to triggered activity (exercise-induced ventricular tachycardia), initiating an arrhythmia due to reentry (AV nodal reentrant tachycardia).     

Ablation of Incessant Left Atrial Tachycardia Without Fluoroscopy in a Pregnant Woman

Ablation Without Fluoroscopy in Pregnancy. Background: Management of symptomatic atrial arrhythmia in pregnancy remains a challenge. In this case report, a pregnant woman with incessant tachycardia underwent successful left atrial ablation. The entire procedure was performed without fluoroscopy. Methods and Results: A 20‐year‐old woman, 27 weeks pregnant, was admitted with congestive cardiac failure and incessant atrial tachycardia. She had an elevated brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and chest X‐ray demonstrating heart failure. The 12‐lead electrocardiogram (ECG) showed atrial tachycardia with a cycle length of 310 ms, inverted P waves in lead I and the inferior leads, and a ventricular rate of 84 bpm during 2:1 block. Echocardiogram showed a global reduction in left ventricular function with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 0.40. Electrical cardioversion failed. Rate control could not be achieved with beta‐blockers and calcium antagonists. Amiodarone with repeat cardioversion was also unsuccessful. The patient then underwent catheter ablation. The entire procedure was performed using intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) and electroanatomical mapping with no fluoroscopy. Electrophysiology (EP) study and an activation map of the left atrium confirmed a focal left atrial tachycardia which was successfully ablated. Six weeks postablation, the left ventricular function had normalized and the patient delivered a healthy child at term, without complication. Conclusion: Ablation of left atrial tachycardia using ICE and electroanatomical guidance is feasible in pregnant women. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 22, pp. 346‐349, March 2011)     

Procainamide-lnduced polymorphous ventricular tachycardia

Seven cases of procainamide-induced polymorphous ventricular tachycardia are presented. In four patients, polymorphous ventricular tachycardia appeared after intravenous administration of 200 to 400 mg of procainamide for the treatment of sustained ventricular tachycardia. In the remaining three patients, procainamide was administered orally for treatment of chronic premature ventricular contractions or atrial flutter. These patients had Q-T prolongation and recurrent syncope due to polymorphous ventricular tachycardia. In four patients, the arrhythmia was rapidly diagnosed and treated with disappearance of further episodes of the arrhythmia. In two patients, the arrhythmia degenerated into irreversible ventricular fibrillation and both patients died. In the seventh patient, a permanent ventricular pacemaker was inserted and, despite continuation of procainamide therapy, polymorphous ventricular tachycardia did not reoccur. These seven cases demonstrate that procainamide can produce an acquired prolonged Q-T syndrome with polymorphous ventricular tachycardia.     

Clinical and electrophysiologic findings in patients with repetitive monomorphic ventricular tachycardia and otherwise normal electrocardiogram

Natural history, structural substrate, electrocardiographic and electrophysiologic characteristics and therapy were evaluated in 18 patients who demonstrated repetitive ventricular tachycardia, defined as repeated episodes of ventricular tachycardia that had a uniform QRS configuration and normal sinus-conducted QRS complexes between the episodes of tachycardia. The patients were young (mean age 37 years) and frequently had a long history of arrhythmia before this evaluation; only two patients had a history of syncope and six were completely asymptomatic. Fourteen patients had no evidence of underlying structural heart disease, three had mitral valve prolapse and one had congestive cardiomyopathy. Episodes of ventricular tachycardia tended to occur in clusters over a 24 hour electrocardiographic recording period.Repetitive ventricular tachycardia was induced in two of nine patients by programmed electrical stimulation, and in seven patients incremental atrial and ventricular pacing suppressed spontaneous arrhythmia. In the one patient whose tachycardia was induced by incremental ventricular pacing there was an inverse relation between pacing cycle length and the interval from the last paced complex to the first complex of ventricular tachycardia, indicating there was overdrive suppression.At a follow-up time of 0.5 to 8 years no patient had died or had worsening of symptoms. Encainide completely eliminated episodes of ventricular tachycardia during acute treatment in five of six patients tested. Seven patients received no antiarrhythmic therapy and the arrhythmia appeared to have spontaneously resolved in four of these patients. Repetitive ventricular tachycardia appears to have distinct clinical and electrophysiologic characteristics. In this series the arrhythmia had a good prognosis and often required no treatment. The electrophysiologic features are consistent with a mechanism of automaticity.     

Septal Ventricular Tachycardia with Alternating LBBB–RBBB Morphology in Isolated Ventricular Noncompaction

Alternating VT Morphology in IVNC. Knowledge on ventricular tachycardia (VT) in isolated ventricular noncompaction (IVNC) is limited. We report on a patient with IVNC who presented with cardiogenic shock due to an incessant drug‐resistant VT that was cured by radiofrequency ablation. The VT had characteristics of a deep septal focal arrhythmia, which was distinctive by ablation‐induced alternation of the rightward and leftward exits, and was difficult to ablate from either side of the ventricular septum. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 704‐707, June 2010)     

The exception to Marriot's sign

Differentiation of a wide complex arrhythmia can pose as a clinical challenge in the acute care setting. Two broad differentials exist including ventricular tachycardia versus supraventricular tachycardia with aberrancy, underlying bundle branch block or intrinsic conduction defect. To aid in distinguishing between supraventricular tachycardia and ventricular tachycardia, Brugada criteria is commonly used, albeit new algorithms have become more common. Marriott's sign, a taller peak in the first R wave when compared to R' is considered a specific criterion for distinguishing between these two entities and strongly favors the diagnosis of ventricular tachycardia. In this case we present a wide complex tachycardia, which is an exception to Marriott's sign.     

Prognosis in Patients with Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Ventricular Tachycardia Following Programmed Ventricular Stimulation

We performed programmed ventricular stimulation on 69 patients with left ventricular ejection dysfunction (ejection fraction < 50%) and clinically recognized ventricular tachycardia including 28 patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia and 41 patients with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. An inducible arrhythmia (> 6 beats ventricular tachycardia) was found in 74% of patients. Patients with clinically sustained arrhythmias were frequently inducible (89%) with a high incidence of inducible monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (82%). Patients with clinically nonsustained ventricular tachycardia had a lower rate of inducibility (63%) including a high incidence of inducible polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (27%). Inducible patients with left ventricular dysfunction and ventricular tachycardia had a low incidence of electrophysiologically demonstrated effective drug therapy (16%). However, if an effective drug was found, the prognosis was good. Empirical drug therapy was associated with a poor prognosis in inducible and noninducible patients. Finally, an unfavorable prognosis was associated with a clinically sustained arrhythmia, a lower ejection fraction, and the presence of a left ventricular aneurysm. An inducible arrhythmia did not predict an unfavorable course. Indeed, patients with noninducible ventricular tachycardia in this group of patients were still at risk for sudden cardiac death.     

Radiofrequency ablation of a fascicular tachycardia after orthotopic cardiac transplantation

A 51 year old male received an orthotopic transplant because of end stage ischaemic heart disease. The donor was a healthy male teenager with no history of arrhythmias or other cardiac conditions. The patient presented with haemodynamically stable tachycardia and dyspnoea five weeks post-transplant. The ECG showed a regular tachycardia of 140 beats/min with a right bundle branch block morphology, left axis deviation, and a QRS duration of 135 ms. There were independent P waves, capture, and fusion beats confirming the diagnosis of ventricular tachycardia. Endomyocardial biopsy showed moderate focal rejection that was thought to be responsible for the arrhythmia. During the following six months the patient had recurrent tachyarrhythmias; on each occasion the ECG morphology was the same and there was no cellular rejection. The patient continued to have frequent hospital admissions with ventricular tachycardia requiring DC cardioversion despite the empirical use of amiodarone, sotalol, disopyramide, and procainamide. Eighteen months after transplantation the diagnosis of fascicular tachycardia was suspected by ECG morphology and supported by successful termination with intravenous verapamil. The arrhythmia was successfully managed by radiofrequency ablation. This patient shows that arrhythmias following transplantation are not always related to rejection, and that other potentially reversible causes should be considered, particularly when the ECG during arrhythmia conforms to a classic configuration.     

Incidence and clinical significance of induced ventricular tachycardia

Five hundred twenty-nine patients were studied with programmed ventricular stimulation for evaluation of supraventricular and ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Eighty-six patients had clinical ventricular tachycardia. Sustained ventricular tachycardia was induced in 52 (91 percent) of the 57 patients with a sustained form of the arrhythmia clinically. Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia was induced in 18 (62 percent) of 29 patients with a symptomatic nonsustained form clinically, in 2 (4 percent) of 57 patients with a sustained form and in 3 (0.7 percent) of the 443 patients with no documented spontaneous ventricular tachycardia. Ventricular tachycardia (sustained or nonsustained) was induced by double right or left ventricular extrastimuli in 47 patients (63 percent) and by single right ventricular extrastimuli in 23 (31 percent); in 5 (7 percent), it was inducible only by rapid ventricular pacing and in 9 (12 percent) only by left ventricular stimulation.All 52 patients with induced sustained ventricular tachycardia had the sustained form clinically. Of the 23 patients with induced nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, 18 (78 percent) had the nonsustained form clinically. Four hundred fifty-four patients had no induced ventricular tachycardia; only 14 (3 percent) of these had the arrhythmia spontaneously. The morphologic features, axis and cycle length of 54 of 62 episodes of induced ventricular tachycardia in 43 patients were similar to those of the clinically observed arrhythmia. It is concluded that ventricular tachycardia resembling the clinical variety can be induced in the laboratory in almost all patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia clinically, in the majority of those with symptomatic nonsustained ventricular tachycardia clinically, and only rarely in patients with no previously documented ventricular tachycardia. Conversely, induction of ventricular tachycardia implies the likelihood of spontaneous episodes of this arrhythmia.     

Percutaneous epicardial radiofrequency ablation of idiopathic ventricular tachycardia

We describe 3 patients with ventricular tachycardia in whom epicardial ablation was done after prior attempts of endocardial ablation had failed. Clinical ventricular tachycardia originated at the right ventricular outflow tract in one patient and near the mitral annulus in another patient. In these two cases ventricular tachycardia was mapped and successfully ablated with a percutaneous subxiphoid approach to the pericardial space. In the remaining patient, ventricular tachycardia originated near the mitral annulus and was ablated via a coronary vein. The two patients who presented tachycardiomyopathy recovered normal left ventricular function after successful ablation. Failure of endocardial ablation may reflect a substrate of epicardial arrhythmia. Epicardial ablation is effective and provides an alternative therapy for patients with ventricular tachycardia, including those with no structural heart disease.     

Ablation of Severe Drug‐Resistant Tachyarrhythmia During Pregnancy

Ablation of Tachyarrhythmia During Pregnancy. Aims: The goal of this study was to describe mapping and ablation of severe arrhythmias during pregnancy, with minimum or no X‐ray exposure. Treatment of tachyarrhythmia in pregnancy is a clinical problem. Pharmacotherapy entails a risk of adverse effects and is unsuccessful in some patients. Radiofrequency ablation has been performed rarely, because of fetal X‐ray exposure and potential maternal and fetus complications. Group and Method: Mapping and ablation was performed in 9 women (age 24–34 years) at 12–38th week of pregnancy. Three had permanent junctional reciprocating tachycardia, and 2 had incessant atrial tachycardia. Four of them had left ventricular ejection fraction ≤45%. One patient had atrioventricular nodal reciprocating tachycardia requiring cardioversion. Three patients had Wolff‐Parkinson‐White syndrome. Two of them had atrial fibrillation with ventricular rate 300 bpm and 1 had atrioventricular tachycardia 300 bpm. Fetal echocardiography was performed before and after the procedure. Results: Three women had an electroanatomic map and ablation done without X‐ray exposure. The mean fluoroscopy time in the whole group was 42 ± 37 seconds. The mean procedure time was 56 ± 18 minutes. After the procedure, all women and fetuses were in good condition. After a mean period of 43 ± 23 months follow up (FU), all patients were free of arrhythmia without complications related to ablation either in the mothers or children. Conclusion: Ablation can be performed safely with no or minimal radiation exposure during pregnancy. In the setting of malignant, drug‐resistant arrhythmia, ablation may be considered a therapeutic option in selected cases. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 877‐882, August 2010)     

Clinical experience in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators

Forty patients (36 men and 4 women) with life-threatening arrhythmia received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). Mean age was 63 years (range, 46 to 80 years). All patients had structural heart disease, with coronary artery disease in 32 patients, idiopathic cardiomyopathy in 7 patients, and hypertensive heart disease in 1 patient. Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 29 +/- 13%. The clinical arrhythmia was out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in 14 patients (35%), symptomatic sustained ventricular tachycardia in 21 patients (53%), and episodes of syncope without documented spontaneous ventricular arrhythmia but ventricular tachycardia that was easily provoked at the time of electrophysiologic testing in 5 patients (13%). Sustained ventricular tachycardia was induced in 37 patients (93%) at basic electrophysiologic testing. The average number of drug failures was 2.9 +/- 1.4 per patient. One patient (2.5%) died perioperatively because of intractable ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. During a median follow-up period of 5.5 months (range 2-21 months) 2 sudden deaths occurred. No patient had a serious complication during the follow-up period. Ten patients (25%) received antiarrhythmic drugs to suppress spontaneous ventricular tachycardia. Appropriate shock treatment was received by 18 patients (45%), and inappropriate shock treatment was received by 2 patients (5%). Several issues regarding use of the ICD must be considered, but the device seems to be useful, and it is associated with an acceptable rate of complications and good long-term success at the present time.     

Malignant fascicular ventricular tachycardia degenerating into ventricular fibrillation in a patient with early repolarization syndrome

A 45-year-old man was hospitalized for syncope due to fascicular ventricular tachycardia degenerating into ventricular fibrillation (VF). The electrocardiogram showed an early repolarization syndrome. The arrhythmia was repetitive and disappeared after oral hydroquinidine. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was implanted; subsequently, the patient was arrhythmia free at 9 months follow-up.     

Coincident atrioventricular nodal reentrant and idiopathic ventricular tachycardia

Double tachycardia appears to be relatively rare. Our single-center experience of coincident typical atrioventricular nodal reentrant and idiopathic ventricular tachycardia was reviewed. Between September 2003 and February 2005, 40 patients with idiopathic ventricular tachycardia underwent catheter ablation for right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia in 20, left ventricular outflow tract tachycardia in 2, and left ventricular septal tachycardia in 18. In 5 patients (2 men and 3 women, aged 27-49 years) there was a combination of typical atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia and idiopathic ventricular tachycardia. They had no structural heart disease. The presenting arrhythmia was supraventricular in one and ventricular in 4. There was no case of inducibility of one arrhythmia by the other (tachycardia-induced tachycardia), but an interaction was observed in one tachycardia in which inducibility was seen only after ablation of the other arrhythmia. Radiofrequency ablation of either arrhythmia did not prevent induction of the other.     

Ventricular allorhythmia during infarct-related ventricular tachycardia

Ventricular allorhythmia is an electrocardiogram feature leading to a pattern of "regularly irregular" arrhythmia mainly reported during non-life-threatening organized atrial tachycardia. We report the infrequent case of a patient presenting with ventricular allorhythmia during infarct-related ventricular tachycardia. The potential mechanisms of this tachycardia are discussed.     

Delayed repolarization syndrome

The electrocardiograms of 18 patients with atypical ventricular tachycardia manifested as torsade de pointes, ventricular fibrilloflutter, polymorphous ventricular tachycardia, and uniform ventricular tachycardia were analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: The first group included 10 patients with prolonged Q-T intervals or abnormal U waves (delayed repolarization) and the second group included eight patients with normal ventricular repolarization. All of the electrocardiographic manifestations of atypical ventricular tachycardia were seen in both groups, regardless of the duration of the Q-T interval or the presence of an abnormal U wave. It is suggested that QRS morphology during the tachycardia is not sufficient to distinguish between delayed repolarization and other causes of atypical ventricular tachycardia. Finally, because the electrocardiogram may vary among different patients and from one episode to the next in a single patient due to abnormal repolarization, it is recommended that the term delayed repolarization syndrome be used to identify the arrhythmia.     

Bundle-Branch reentry tachycardia

A 21-year-old man with aborted sudden death developed bundle-branch reentry tachycardia at electrophysiologic study. Ablation of the right bundle branch was performed in an attempt to eliminate the recurrence of ventricular arrhythmia. The clinical arrhythmia was no longer inducible; however, a second type of ventricular tachycardia of a different mechanism and origin was induced. Following a new clinical episode of ventricular tachycardia with hemodynamic deterioration, an automatic implantable cardioverter and defibrillator was implanted.     

Sotalol-induced torsade de pointes

A case of sotalol-induced polymorphous ventricular tachycardia (torsade de pointes) is presented. The patient had moderately prolonged Q-T interval before medication with sotalol with further prolongation after application of this drug. Electrophysiological study during rechallenge with sotalol demonstrated a uniform ventricular tachycardia with a somewhat polymorphous onset; whether or not this tachycardia represented replication of the patient's spontaneous arrhythmia is questionable. Without antiarrhythmic drugs and during medication with pindolol ventricular tachycardia was not inducible.     

Two unusual cases of coincident atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia and ventricular tachycardia.

The simultaneous occurrence of narrow and wide QRS complex tachycardias was observed in 2 patients evaluated at our electrophysiological centers. Electrophysiological testing revealed the coexistence of two types of arrhythmia (atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia and verapamil-sensitive left ventricular tachycardia) in one patient and of three types of arrhythmia (atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia originating from the right ventricular outflow tract, and left ventricular tachycardia) in the other. Both patients underwent successful radiofrequency ablation of all the types of tachycardia.