Ventricular Tachycardia

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a heart disorder that causes the lower chambers, or ventricles, to beat very rapidly. This increased heart rate is triggered by electrical pulses that originate in the ventricles as opposed to the upper chambers, or atria, which is the heart's natural function. On the contrary, VT can also stem from errant electrical signals that do not follow the standard route through the heart's conduction system.

VTs may be continuous or nonrecurring, and they may arise in the left or right ventricle. The severity of VTs varies from minimal symptoms to a potentially fatal condition that requires immediate care. If the patient has a prior history of heart disease, they are at highest risk during a VT incident.

VT patients generally experience a lot of heart palpitations. Sustained VT may be treacherous since the ventricles do not fill to normal capacity and are unable to pump blood the way they should. As blood pressure drops, heart failure is not too far behind. Sustained VT is also dangerous because it can gradually get worse until it turns into ventricular fibrillation, a kind of cardiac arrest. In healthier specimens, VT may not cause any frightening symptoms--even at rates as high as 200 beats per minute--but it still can put the individual in a very precarious situation.

The most serious types of VT may cause fainting or even cardiac arrest. If the patient collapses and enters cardiac arrest, they must undergo defibrillation as soon as possible to prevent sudden cardiac death.

People with milder forms of VT may not call for treatment at all. For instance, VT may subside following a switch in drug therapy. Other patients may need a bit more intensive treatment besides medication. These methods include:

Catheter ablation.
Surgery.
Imbedding a cardioverter defibrillator implant.

The decision-making process of selecting a particular treatment really rides on the nature of the VT and the odds that one will suffer a more serious cardiac arrhythmia.

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