Overview
Ventricular tachycardia originates below the atrioventricular node and may significantly impair cardiac output.
It is especially important in patients with structural heart disease or previous myocardial infarction.
Clinical Features
Patients may develop palpitations, dizziness, syncope, chest discomfort, hypotension, or cardiac arrest.
A wide-complex tachycardia should be treated as ventricular tachycardia until proven otherwise when the diagnosis is uncertain.
ECG Findings
VT is usually a broad-complex tachycardia and may demonstrate AV dissociation, capture beats, fusion beats, or other supportive features.
Management
Unstable VT requires urgent synchronized cardioversion when the patient has a pulse. Pulseless VT is managed as a cardiac-arrest rhythm with defibrillation and resuscitation.
Stable VT may require antiarrhythmic therapy and specialist assessment.
Clinical Pearls
Wide-complex tachycardia = VT until proven otherwise.
END OF REVIEW
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