Patient activated asynchronous ventricular pacing at normal rates for termination of ventricular tachycardia

Ventricular pacing has been used to prevent or convert ventricular tachycardia. We report the use of patient-activated asynchronous mode ventricular pacing at normal rates for conversion of ventricular tachycardia by competitive pacing impulses. Following electrophysiologic studies, a specially constructed pacemaker was inserted. Routine function mode resulted in no output but activation of the reed switch resulted in V00 (asynchronous) pacing at 80/min. Patient-initiated conversion of ventricular tachycardia was documented by ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring. The patient reports an average of two episodes per month converted over a four year period.