Management of Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias
Part II
- Masood Akhtar, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
IN A previous issue of The Journal (1982;247:671-674), the role of drug therapy in the control of ventricular tachyarrhythmias was explored. The discussion of this therapeutic approach continues, and two other broad categories of management, "pacing" and "surgery," are examined.
Role of Electrophysiological Studies and Serial Drug Testing.— In recent years, electrophysiological studies have been used in an attempt to achieve a more objective therapeutic end point for the control of ventricular tachyarrhythmias.1 This has been made possible by the realization that ventricular tachyarrhythmias can be induced by programmed electrical stimulation (PES) in the controlled environments of the electrophysiology laboratory. This is particularly true of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF), both of which are generally reentrant in nature and, therefore, inducible with PES in a majority of patients who have experienced VT or VF or both. Programmed electrical stimulation is accomplished through electrode catheters (similar
Footnotes
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This article is one of a series sponsored by the American Heart Association.
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Reprint requests to Mount Sinai Medical Center, PO Box 342, Milwaukee, WI 53201 (Dr Akhtar).
