Clinical features of sustained ventricular tachycardia among various underlying heart diseases

Clinical findings of 52 patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) were analyzed to assess the importance of the underlying etiology. Among patients with organic heart diseases, no differences were found in the VT rate, the incidence of syncope, and the number of patients who required DC shock, regardless of the difference of the underlying organic heart diseases. Patients without organic heart disease had usually more benign clinical presentations. The electrophysiologic findings of VT such as inducibility, a mode of induction and incidence of pleomorphism were similar in patients who had organic heart disease of various causes. Neither the incidence of pleomorphism nor occurrence of acceleration of VT rate was found in patients with idiopathic VT, and the incidence of VT induction was low in patients with idiopathic VT of RV origin. Patients with organic heart diseases often died suddenly, and patients when their VT rate was 200/min or higher, developed syncope, even who had normal LV function.