title: [Percutaneous epicardial radiofrequency ablation of idiopathic ventricular tachycardia].
abstract: We describe 3 patients with ventricular tachycardia in whom epicardial ablation was done after prior attempts of endocardial ablation had failed. Clinical ventricular tachycardia originated at the right ventricular outflow tract in one patient and near the mitral annulus in another patient. In these two cases ventricular tachycardia was mapped and successfully ablated with a percutaneous subxiphoid approach to the pericardial space. In the remaining patient, ventricular tachycardia originated near the mitral annulus and was ablated via a coronary vein. The two patients who presented tachycardiomyopathy recovered normal left ventricular function after successful ablation. Failure of endocardial ablation may reflect a substrate of epicardial arrhythmia. Epicardial ablation is effective and provides an alternative therapy for patients with ventricular tachycardia, including those with no structural heart disease.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Arritmias, Instituto Cardiovascular del Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain. jvillacastin@secardiologia.es
authors.forename: Julián
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Villacastín
authors.forename: Nicasio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pérez Castellano
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quintana
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000601:surgery*