title: [Diagnosis and therapy of ventricular tachycardias].
abstract: For the diagnosis of ventricular tachycardia the surface ECG is a sufficient diagnostic tool in most instances. Therefore, invasive electrophysiological studies are normally not indicated for diagnostic purposes, except if the tachycardia has not been documented up to now. However, invasive testing is necessary in every patient with VT for therapeutic reasons. During the study, the tachycardia is induced and terminated by programmed ventricular stimulation and the effect of different antiarrhythmic drugs tested. If no drug is able to suppress the induction of the tachycardia or to render it more difficult, alternative forms of therapy are to be considered. Implantable defibrillators and antitachycardial pacemakers are still at a developmental stage which does not allow a general application yet. In specialized centers, most of these intractable patients are undergoing electrophysiological operations. During operation the "focus" of the tachycardia is localized by means of epicardial and endocardial mapping and excluded by encircling subendocardial incision. In the last years, experimental and clinical studies are focusing on the so-called late potentials as markers for VT. These potentials can be recorded from the body surface by means of the signal averaging technique. Their clinical significance has not been fully established yet.
mesh_terms: D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology; D006339:Heart Rate; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy
vernacular_title: Diagnostik und Therapie ventrikulärer Tachykardien.