The influence of nitroglycerine on the inducibility of sustained ventricular tachycardia in coronary artery disease.
To investigate the influence of nitroglycerine on the inducibility of sustained ventricular tachycardia, 11 patients with documented sustained ventricular tachycardia were studied (mean age 59 years, range 52-70 years, eight posterior wall infarctions, three anterior wall infarctions). After the induction of sustained ventricular tachycardia using a standard protocol (three ventricular premature beats triggered on the R wave, three ventricular premature beats to the refractory period during basic driving rate up to 180 beats min-1), 0.8 mg nitroglycerine was given and when the wedge pressure started dropping (after about 3 min) the EPS was repeated. The mode of the initiation of sustained ventricular tachycardia was almost identical before and after application of nitroglycerine. In addition the heart rate before (mean 186 beats min-1) and after nitroglycerine (mean 187 beats min-1) and the morphology of sustained ventricular tachycardia were the same. It is therefore concluded that anti-ischaemic interventions by nitroglycerine treating silent ischaemia and improving ventricular function respectively does not influence the initiation of sustained ventricular tachycardia during EPS. Silent ischaemia obviously does not play a role in sustained ventricular tachycardia and therefore anti-ischaemic interventions cannot be expected to influence the recurrence of sustained ventricular tachycardia.
Probst
P
P
Cardiological University Clinic, Vienna, Austria.
Gottsauner-Wolf
M
M
Schmidinger
H
H
Weber
H
H
D000368:Aged; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D005996:Nitroglycerin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000503:physiopathology*
D005996:Nitroglycerin