A modified VA-ECMO system supported catheter ablation in patients with malignant ventricular tachycardia, achieving successful ablation in 95% of cases and 100% survival at 1 year.
Observational (n=21)
No
Does modified VA-ECMO support improve procedural success and survival in patients undergoing catheter ablation for malignant ventricular tachycardia?
Modified VA-ECMO support during catheter ablation for malignant ventricular tachycardia electrical storm is associated with high procedural success and excellent 1-year survival.
Background: An electrical storm due to malignant ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a life-threatening condition that requires catheter ablation (CA). Most VT arrhythmias evolve over time after acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, or chronic heart failure. Clinically, only radiofrequency ablation can identify and block all arrhythmia origin points. The procedure necessitates continuous VT induction in patients, resulting in hemodynamic instability; therefore, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support is required. Earlier studies have reported substantial mortality rates; however, our results are significantly more favorable. In this study, we combined the minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation (MiECC) approach with ECMO to preserve an appropriate ECMO flow rate, thus reducing intraoperative left heart afterload. We report 21 cases illustrating the usefulness of modified veno-arterial (VA)-ECMO in this scenario. Methods: Data of 21 patients supported by the modified VA-ECMO system (MiECC approach combined with the ECMO system) during VT CA in the Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital between June 2020 and July 2021 were reviewed retrospectively. Results: Successful ablation was achieved in 20 out of 21 patients (95%). The median time for ECMO implantation was 206 min. Only two patients experienced complications post-treatment. All patients made complete recovery and were discharged. All patients were alive at the 1-year-follow-up. Conclusions: Our modified VA-ECMO system helped restore systemic circulation in patients experiencing an electrical storm, thus achieving greater electrical stability during VT CA. Pre-insertion of VA-ECMO can achieve even better results.
Zhang et al. (Tue,) conducted a observational in Electrical storm due to malignant ventricular tachycardia (n=21). Modified VA-ECMO system (MiECC approach combined with ECMO) was evaluated on Successful ablation. A modified VA-ECMO system supported catheter ablation in patients with malignant ventricular tachycardia, achieving successful ablation in 95% of cases and 100% survival at 1 year.