<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Electrical storm due to the development of repetitive sustained ventricular tachycardias (VT) is a potentially life-threatening clinical entity. Acute catheter ablation can be lifesaving. Electrical storm (ES) can be characterized as a period of severe cardiac electrical instability manifested by recurrent ventricular arrhythmias. ES adversely affects short and long term prognosis. The highest mortality risk is in the first 3 months after the occurrence of the index event as shown by the AVID trial. The appearance of a ventricular tachycardia (VT) storm is associated with a rather high mortality despite the presence of an internal cardioverter defibrillator. Catheter ablation (CA) in VT storm is evolving as a standard of care therapy. The increased utilization of CA is partly driven by data suggesting that ICD shocks may be associated with increased mortality, partly due to the limited possibilities and adverse events of medical therapy. The aim of this review is to summarize recent advances in CA of VTs in emergency setting.</p></abstract>

Electrical storm due to the development of repetitive sustained ventricular tachycardias (VT) is a potentially life-threatening clinical entity. Acute catheter ablation can be lifesaving. Electrical storm (ES) can be characterized as a period of severe cardiac electrical instability manifested by recurrent ventricular arrhythmias. ES adversely affects short and long term prognosis. The highest mortality risk is in the first 3 months after the occurrence of the index event as shown by the AVID trial. The appearance of a ventricular tachycardia (VT) storm is associated with a rather high mortality despite the presence of an internal cardioverter defibrillator. Catheter ablation (CA) in VT storm is evolving as a standard of care therapy. The increased utilization of CA is partly driven by data suggesting that ICD shocks may be associated with increased mortality, partly due to the limited possibilities and adverse events of medical therapy. The aim of this review is to summarize recent advances in CA of VTs in emergency setting.

The Role of Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardias in the Treatment of Patients with Electrical Storm

Department of Clinical Electrophysiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Journal of Cardiovascular Emergencies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Electrical storm due to the development of repetitive sustained ventricular tachycardias (VT) is a potentially life-threatening clinical entity. Acute catheter...

The Role of Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardias in the Treatment of Patients with Electrical Storm

Published Online: Nov 07, 2015

Page range: 8 - 11

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jce-2015-0002

Keywords
ablation, ventricular tachycardia, electrical storm

© 2015 Astrid Hendriks et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Role of Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardias in the Treatment of Patients with Electrical Storm

Published Online: Nov 07, 2015

Page range: 8 - 11

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jce-2015-0002

Keywordsablation, ventricular tachycardia, electrical storm

© 2015 Astrid Hendriks et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
ablation, ventricular tachycardia, electrical storm