Electrophysiological study and 'slow' ventricular tachycardia predict appropriate therapy: results from a single-centre implantable cardiac defibrillator follow-up.

Abstract

AIMS:

To account for appropriate and inappropriate therapies and cardiac death (CD) in a cohort of consecutive implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) eligible patients and to identify baseline predictors of these outcomes.

METHODS AND RESULTS:

During follow-up of 288 consecutive ICD-treated patients, clinical, biochemical, echocardiographic, arteriographic, and electrophysiological (EP) data at baseline were individually matched with survival data and electrograms retrieved during device interrogation. Predictors of therapy and CD were identified by multivariate analyses. Eighty-eight per cent of cases were secondary prevention and 12% were primary prevention. About 770 patient-years of ICD follow-up were analysed. Median follow-up was 22.7 months. Forty-eight per cent of patients had appropriate therapy for at least one ventricular tachyarrhythmia. Seventy per cent of tachycardias were successfully treated with anti-tachy pacing alone. Overall risk of therapy was higher for patients with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) than with non-IHD (51 vs. 37%; P = 0.049). Low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), positive EP study, and 'slow' ventricular tachycardia predicted appropriate therapy. Cardiac death was predicted by nephropathy, low LVEF, amiodarone use, and supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). Inappropriate therapy affected 12.2% of patients and was predicted by known SVT and IHD.

CONCLUSION:

Electrophysiological study and slow VT predicted appropriate therapy. Amiodarone use predicted CD. Inappropriate therapy remains an important issue largely predictable by SVT.

• Authors: René Worck, Jens Haarbo, Poul Erik Bloch Thomsen
• Journal: Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology (Europace) Vol. 9 Issue 11 Pg. 1048-53 (Nov 2007) ISSN: 1532-2092 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 17686794 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
• Amiodarone

Topics

• Accelerated Idioventricular Rhythm (physiopathology, therapy)
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Amiodarone (therapeutic use)
• Anti-Arrhythmia Agents (therapeutic use)
• Death, Sudden, Cardiac (etiology)
• Defibrillators, Implantable
• Electrophysiology
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Kaplan-Meier Estimate
• Male
• Multivariate Analysis
• Predictive Value of Tests
• Risk Factors
• Stroke Volume (physiology)
• Treatment Outcome