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The Use of the Block Cycle Length as a Safe and Efficient Means of Interrupting Sustained Ventricular Tachycardia and Its Pharmacological Modification
Author(s) -
OHIRA KOJI,
NIWANO SHINICHI,
FURUSHIMA HIROSHI,
TANEDA KOJI,
CHINUSHI MASAOMI,
AIZAWA YOSHIFUSA
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.1998.tb00265.x
Subject(s) - medicine , ventricular tachycardia , cardiology , tachycardia , block (permutation group theory) , sustained ventricular tachycardia , anesthesia , geometry , mathematics
In nine patients who had inducible monomorphic sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT), rapid pacing was performed in 11 episodes of morphologically distinct VT at progressively shorter cycle lengths and VT was interrupted at a critical cycle length. The VT interrupting critical cycle length was defined as the block cycle length (BCL) and the effect of Class I antiarrhythmic drugs were examined. Both the VT cycle length (VTCL) and the BCL were prolonged after administration of either drug. The overall mean ratio of the BCL to the VTCL was unchanged after procainamide administration, but increased after the use of mexiletine. The ratio, however, varied in individual VTs and the BCL after treatment with Class I antiarrhythmic drugs could not be predicted from the ratio baseline value, although the ratio was always > 60% and the hazard of VT acceleration might be avoided if the BCL is used.