title: The heart rate of ventricular tachycardia following an old myocardial infarction is inversely related to the size of scarring.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between the initial cycle length (CL) of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and the size of the myocardial scar and its border zone in patients with old myocardial infarction (MI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Late gadolinium-enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance was performed prior to implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation in 24 patients. The size of non-scared myocardium, scar, scar core, and border zone were measured as voxel numbers. The number of core islands, contour-regularity of scar and left-ventricular ejection fraction were also calculated. During the first year after ICD implantation, VT was recorded in 20 patients. With univariate regression analysis, the number of core islands had the highest correlation with the CL of VT (R = 0.614, adjusted R(2) = 0.342, P = 0.004). By multiple regression analyses, the highest correlation was found by the use of scar core and core islands (R = 0.721, adjusted R(2) = 0.464, P = 0.002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The heart rate of VT (bpm) in patients with old MI is inversely related to the properties of the densest parts of the myocardial scar.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Stavanger University Hospital, 4011 Stavanger, Norway. leikw@online.no
authors.forename: Leik
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Woie
authors.forename: Trygve
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eftestøl
authors.forename: Kjersti
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Engan
authors.forename: Jan Terje
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Kvaløy
authors.forename: Dennis W T
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Nilsen
authors.forename: Stein
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ørn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013318:Stroke Volume; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome