title: Ventricular tachycardia without apparent heart disease: long-term follow-up.
abstract: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the long-term prognosis of ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients without structural heart disease (HD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Holter monitoring, exercise test, echocardiography, right angiography, coronary angiography, and electrophysiologic study were performed in 810 patients with VT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty patients (mean age, 45 ± 17 years) had no apparent HD. VT was reproduced at electrophysiologic study in 62 patients. Mean follow-up was 9.7 ± 7 years. Initially, 91% were treated with drugs. Defibrillator was implanted in 4, including 2 for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy diagnosed later. VT ablation was performed in 3 patients. Three patients older than 70 years died of nonarrhythmic cause. Other patients are alive without antiarrhythmic drug treatment in 50%. Three developed a dilated cardiomyopathy; and 2, atrial fibrillation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Invasive treatment was rarely required in patients with VT without HD. The prognosis was only dependent on the age and the pattern of electrocardiogram in VT.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology CHU of Brabois, Vandoeuvre Les Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Jean Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sellal
authors.forename: Béatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brembilla-Perrot
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Suty-Selton
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sadoul
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Huttin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy