title: Radiofrequency catheter ablation of an incessant ventricular tachycardia following valve surgery.
abstract: Sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) after valve surgery represents a clinical entity with different tachycardia mechanisms. This case report describes an incessant VT after tricuspid and aortic valve replacement that did not respond to antiarrhythmic drug treatment. The tachycardia exhibited VA block and a right bundle branch block pattern with left-axis deviation, suggesting ventricular excitation via the left posterior fascicle. The electrophysiological study was limited by the prosthetic tricuspid and aortic valve replacement, therefore a transseptal approach was necessary to obtain access to the ventricular myocardium. Radiofrequency catheter ablation was performed in the proximal left bundle or distal His region with termination of the incessant VT followed by complete AV block. After pacemaker implantation using a transvenous right atrial and an epicardial ventricular lead, no VT reoccurrence could be documented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine-Cardiology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany. th.lewalter@uni-bonn.de
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lewalter
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Claus J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Preusse
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lickfett
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wolpert
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Welz
authors.forename: Berndt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lüderitz
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000601:surgery; D002037:Bundle-Branch Block / Q000601:surgery; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D004562:Electrocardiography; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D014261:Tricuspid Valve / Q000601:surgery