title: Sustained Ventricular Tachycardia in Apparently Normal Hearts: Medical Therapy Should be the First Step in Management.
abstract: Sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia or repetitive premature ventricular complexes can be seen in patients with structurally normal hearts. Among these types of patients, the prognosis is predominantly benign and the treatment mostly focused on elimination of symptoms rather than improving survival or reduction of mortality. This article focuses on the pharmacologic options for management and compares them with invasive options. Based on the current literature, we demonstrate that medical therapies should be used as first-line management and favored over invasive therapies. Understanding the arrhythmia mechanism is critical in choosing the appropriate medication among the wide variety of antiarrhythmic drugs available.
authors: Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Ali Kazemi
authors: AK
authors: Saeid
authors: Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors: George J
authors: GJ
authors: Klein
authors: Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: pleongs@uwo.ca.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Leong-Sit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D018879:Ventricular Premature Complexes
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers
keywords: Catheter ablation; Medical therapy; Premature ventricular complexes; Ventricular tachycardia