[Long-term results of catheter ablation of idiopathic and structural ventricular tachycardia].

Abstract

Catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia (VTs) has emerged as an effective treatment modality. Ablation procedures for idiopathic VTs depends on the anatomical origin of the arrhythmias, is highly effective in certain cases, and has been implemented as a first-line therapy in recent European guidelines. In contrast, catheter ablation of VTs in patients with structural heart disease has a significant risk of arrhythmia recurrence. Interventional treatment for patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy was studied in multiple randomized multicenter trials and it was shown that catheter ablation was more effective in arrhythmia suppression compared to conservative treatment modalities. Catheter ablation of nonischemic cardiomyopathy suffers from far higher rates of arrhythmia recurrences as documented in several long-term studies and often needs complex procedures with or without epicardial mapping and ablation. There is still no clear proof of a mortality benefit from catheter ablation of VTs in patients with or without structural heart disease. Nevertheless, recent guidelines recommend catheter ablation as an alternative to implantation of cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) in selected cases.