[Ventricular tachycardia]

In patients with ventricular tachycardias, various structural and functional conditions can be influenced by certain triggers, initiating the mechanism of the arrhythmia. Thorough understanding of these different factors is paramount for the appropriate choice of treatment. Several options are available for the management of ventricular tachycardias: antiarrhythmic drugs, ICD implantation and catheter ablation or a combination of the above. The prognosis of an individual patient is determined by the underlying disease, the mechanism of tachycardia and the selected therapy. The complexity of several conditions requires a specialized diagnostic approach and tailored medical management. Therefore the patients with the following diagnoses should be referred to a specialized electrophysiology center: survivors of sudden cardiac death old infarct scar, reduced ejection fraction and complex ectopy Cardiomyopathy with syncope or ventricular tachycardias Long QT-Syndrome Brugada Syndrome Right Ventricular Dysplasia recurrent syncopes of unclear etiology.