Does surgical left cardiac sympathetic denervation prevent symptoms in young adults with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia?
Surgical left cardiac sympathetic denervation may be an effective long-term treatment for patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia who remain symptomatic despite standard therapy.
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia is a potentially lethal disease characterized by adrenergically mediated ventricular arrhythmias manifested especially in children and teenagers. Beta-blockers are the cornerstone of therapy, but some patients do not have a complete response to this therapy and receive an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Given the nature of catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, ICD shocks may trigger new arrhythmias, leading to the administration of multiple shocks. We describe the long-term efficacy of surgical left cardiac sympathetic denervation in three young adults with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, all of whom had symptoms before the procedure and were symptom-free afterward.
Wilde et al. (2008) studied this question.