Ventricular tachycardia overview
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Ventricular tachycardia Microchapters |
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Differentiating Ventricular Tachycardia from other Disorders |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Case Studies |
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Ventricular tachycardia overview On the Web |
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Risk calculators and risk factors for Ventricular tachycardia overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1];Associate Editor-In-Chief: Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2], Avirup Guha, M.B.B.S.[3]
Overview
Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach or VT) is a tachycardia, or fast heart rhythm that originates in one of the ventricles of the heart. This is a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia because it may lead to ventricular fibrillation and sudden death.
Historical perspective landmarks
| Year | Event |
| 1909 | First electrocardiographic demonstration of ventricular tachycardia. |
| 1921 | Relationship of coronary artery disease and ventricular tachycardia described. |
| 1921 | Electrocardiographic criteria for ventricular tachycardia were defined. |
| 1922 | Quinidine used to treat ventricular tachycardia. |
| 1946 | Lidocaine synthesized. |
| 1950 | Procainamide introduced into clinical practice. |
| 1956 | Alternating current used to terminate ventricular tachycardia. |
| 1959 | Aneurysmectomy performed to treat ventricular tachycardia. |
| 1960 | Use of cardiac pacing to prevent ventricular tachycardia in patients with complete heart block. |
| 1960 | Elective alternating current termination of ventricular tachycardia. |
| 1962 | Synchronized cardioversion" of ventricular tachycardia. |
| 1966 | Torsades de pointes described. |
| 1971 | Ventricular tachycardia initiated and terminated by critically-timed premature ventricular beats. |
Causes
Common causes of ventricular tachycardia include ischemic heart disease, illicit drugs (cocaine and methamphetamine), structural heart disease (including congenital heart diseases such as Tetralogy of Fallot), inherited channelopathies, drug toxicity (digoxin, drugs that prolong the QT interval) and electrolyte disturbances(such as hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, and hypocalcemia).
Treatment
Therapy may be directed at either terminating an episode of the arrhythmia or for suppressing a future episode from occurring. The treatment is tailored to the specific patient, with regard to how well the individual tolerates episodes of ventricular tachycardia, how frequently episodes occur, their comorbidities, and their wishes. The main treatments are categorised on the home page.