Predictive value of clinical and electrophysiological variables in patients with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia.
OBJECTIVE
Risk stratification of patients with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) and chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC).


METHODS
Seventy eight patients with CCC and NSVT were consecutively and prospectively studied. All patients underwent to 24-hour Holter monitoring, radioisotopic ventriculography, left ventricular angiography, and electrophysiologic study. With programmed ventricular stimulation.


RESULTS
Sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (SMVT) was induced in 25 patients (32%), NSVT in 20 (25.6%) and ventricular fibrillation in 4 (5.1%). In 29 patients (37.2%) no arrhythmia was inducible. During a 55. 7-month-follow-up, 22 (28.2%) patients died, 16 due to sudden death, 2 due to nonsudden cardiac death and 4 due to noncardiac death. Logistic regression analysis showed that induction was the independent and main variable that predicted the occurrence of subsequent events and cardiac death (probability of 2.56 and 2.17, respectively). The Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test showed that survival probability was significantly lower in the inducible group than in the noninducible group. The percentage of patients free of events was significantly higher in the noninducible group.


CONCLUSIONS
Induction of SMVT during programmed ventricular stimulation was a predictor of arrhythmia occurrence cardiac death and general mortality in patients with CCC and NSVT.
Silva
R M
RM
Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Távora
M Z
MZ
Gondim
F A
FA
Metha
N
N
Hara
V M
VM
Paola
A A
AA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003645:Death, Sudden; D004562:Electrocardiography; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*