Ventricular Tachycardia

ACA/AHA Update Guidelines for Ventricular Arrhythmia

The American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the Heart Rhythm Society have released updated guidelines on the treatment of patients with ventricular arrhythmias (VA) and those at risk for sudden cardiac death(SCD). The new guidelines are an updated version of the groups’ 2006 guidelines.
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Among the recommendations:

  • Ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring is strongly recommended for the evaluations of symptoms associated with ventricular arrhythmia.
  • Revascularization or repair is strongly recommended for patients with an anomalous origin of coronary artery that is suspected to be caused by sudden cardiac arrest.
  • Patients with life-threatening ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation associated with myocarditis are strongly recommended to be referred to centers with mechanical hemodynamic support.
  • Emergency revascularization is strongly recommended for patients with polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, or ventricular fibrillation with ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or angiography.

In addition, the guidelines included pharmacological therapies for the treatment and prevention VA and SCD, considerations for catheter ablation, and recommendations for the treatment of adults with congenital heart disease.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Al-Khatib SM, Stevenson WG, Ackerman MJ, et al. 2017 AHA/ACC/HRS guideline for management of patients with ventricular arrhythmias and the prevention of sudden cardiac death: executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society [published online October 30, 2017]. J Am Coll Cardiol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2017.10.053.