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Ventricular tachycardia inducibility after radiofrequency ablation affects the outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators: The role of left ventricular function

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Abstract

Purpose

We hypothesized that inducibility of the VT responsible for ICD therapies at the end of RFCA, would also be associated with a differential risk, depending on left ventricular function.

Methods

We retrospectively studied 66 patients with previous myocardial infarction and with ICD who also underwent RFCA for recurrent refractory VTs.

Results

During the follow-up only 19 patients (29%) showed VTs. Among patients with ejection fraction (EF) ≤ 35%, 11 out of 25 still continued to have VT recurrences, independent of the inducibility of the VT. Among patients with EF >35% and <50%, no recurrent VT was any longer detected in the nine patients in whom the VT was not inducible, while VT recurrences still continued only in the eight patients in whom it was. Finally, all the 24 patients with EF ≥50% did not show any recurrent VT.

Conclusions

Our findings confirm the role of RFCA in reducing ICD therapies and also place RFCA in the overall clinical management of recurrent post infarction VTs according to the left ventricular function.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department Heart and Vessels, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Andrea Colella, Carmine Liccardi & Gian Franco Gensini

  2. Department Cardiovascular Rehabilitation, Don Gnocchi Foundation, Florence, Italy

    Marzia Giaccardi, Raffaele Molino Lova & Gian Franco Gensini

  3. Laboratorio di Elettrofisiologia, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Careggi, Viale Morgagni n° 85, 50134, Florence, Italy

    Andrea Colella

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  1. Andrea Colella
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  2. Marzia Giaccardi
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Correspondence to Andrea Colella.

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Authors did not receive any financial support related to this manuscript. Authors have reported no conflict of interest.

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Colella, A., Giaccardi, M., Lova, R.M. et al. Ventricular tachycardia inducibility after radiofrequency ablation affects the outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators: The role of left ventricular function. J Interv Card Electrophysiol 25, 229–234 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10840-008-9351-x

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