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Heart Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
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Subject: Re: Ventricular Tachycardia I am 56 y old and have had a rapid heart beat all of my life, I have also had (undocumented) arrythmias (striking fluttering) for about 25 y. About 2 weeks ago I had a dizzy spell and my wife called the paramedics. While being transported to he hospital their strip showed definite signs of Vtach. This pattern reocurred in the emergency room. I was in IC for one day and on a monitoring floor for 2 days with no recurrences that I am aware of. I was given a stress test by dipyradamole which I was advised was normal. This was followed by an exercise thallium scan. I have no idea what the result of this second test was. Attempts to perform a resting thallium scan several hours failed due to the fact that the detecting device failed. I was released after three days in the hospital with no particular instructions. Two days later I saw my personal physician for the first time (I had just moved cities). He told me to (1) stop smoking [I have], get exercise [I'm trying] and to see an electrophysiologist whose name I supplied him, rather than his choice. The office of the electrophysiologist advised me that their first available appointment was October 9 but when I advised them of my condition they managed to up the date to September 30. I understand that this condition makes me a candidate for sudden cardiac death! Am I over-reacting to the condition, or are the medical suppliers taking a rather "laid-back" approach to my condition? Perhaps I am over-reacting. Appreciate any comments that you might have.
_ Dear Bob, thank you for your question. Ventricular tachycardia (VT) can be caused by many different cardiac conditions: coronary artery disease, primary electrical disturbances, and structural heart defects. If your stress tests were normal, then I doubt that you have coronary artery disease. Most likely, you have a primary electrical disturbance of the heart or a previously undiagnosed structural heart defect. It appears that you are able to tolerate VT hemodynamically, but I cannot determine what your risk of sudden cardiac death is. Most likely, you will need to have an echocardiogram done (ultrasound of the heart) and an electrophysiology study. During an EP study, catheters are inserted into the heart to map electrical conduction and hopefully, locate an area of electrical disturbance. If an area is located that is the origination site for VT, a procedure called radiofrequency ablation (RFA) can be done. During an RFA, radio wave energy is applied to a small, focal area of heart muscle/conduction tissue to eliminate the focus of VT. RFA is a safe and well-tolerated procedure that has good long-term results. Most likely, the electrophysiologist you are to see will suggest an EP study. I think it would be fine to have an appointment on Sept. 30th from the information provided, but only your physician can accurately determine that. I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions. | |
