Why the study?
Does catheter ablation with direct-current shocks prevent recurrence of symptomatic VT in patients with recurrent VT?
Does catheter ablation with direct-current shocks prevent recurrence of symptomatic VT in patients with recurrent VT?
Catheter ablation using direct-current shocks prevented symptomatic VT recurrence in 45% of patients over a mean follow-up of 15.5 months.
May suggest ablation option in refractory VT; leaves open efficacy confirmation in prospective trials.
Thirty-three patients with recurrent ventricular tachycardia (VT) underwent catheter ablation with direct-current shocks. One to four shocks of 100-300 joules were delivered to the presumed VT exit sites as identified by endocardial mapping and pace mapping. Fifteen patients (45%) had no recurrence of symptomatic VT during a follow-up interval of 15.5 +/- 10 months (mean +/- standard deviation). Five patients experienced six nonfatal complications (new VT or ventricular fibrillation, transient neurological deficit, atrioventricular block, brachial artery thrombosis). In conclusion, catheter ablation in selected patients with recurrent VT has the potential for preventing recurrences of VT over the long-term and is relatively safe.
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Morady et al. (1989) studied this question.
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