[Non-medicinal therapy tachycardiac arrhythmias]

The conservative antiarrhythmic treatment was improved by the introduction of the Holter-ECG technique, of the serial electrophysiological testing and by new antiarrhythmic drugs. An essential enhancement of the therapeutic possibilities, particularly when ineffectiveness, proarrhythmic action or intolerance of the medicaments are existing, are increasingly the non-medicamentous techniques of the antiarrhythmic therapy. Thus the treatment of arrhythmia has become by far more effective, but at the same time also more complicated and more expensive. Between 1980 and 1989 altogether 53 patients were treated with anti-tachycardiac pacemakers (25), with an ablation of the bundle of His by means of catheter-mediated DC-shock application (20), with a direct surgical interruption of the bundle of Kent (5) as well as with the implantation of an automatic cardioverter/defibrillator (3). Indications, techniques and results of the individual methods are represented.