Fetal ventricular tachycardia: betablockers should be the first line treatment

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a rare cause of tachycardia during the fetal life. Coexistence of VT with sinus bradycardia or second-degree heart block strongly suggests long QT syndrome (LQTS) [1-3] and needs to administrate to the mother beta-blockers and in some cases magnesium sulfate [1,2,4]. When there is no argument for a LQTS several drugs have been proposed, most of them contraindicated in LQTS. We present a case of fetal LQTS with fetal VT and cardiac insufficiency with no antenatal clue for LQTS, successfully managed with propranolol. Thus, we suggest that in case of isolated fetal VT (i.e. without tumor or cardiomyopathy) beta blockers (excluding sotalol) should be the first line treatment since LQTS can be a possible cause for the dysrhythmia.