Comparison of fixed burst versus decremental burst pacing for termination of ventricular tachycardia

The objective of this study was to compare prospectively the efficacy of fixed burst pacing with that of decremental burst pacing in terminating VT. Forty-four patients with inducible sustained monomorphic VT were studied. The efficacy of fixed burst and decremental burst pacing for terminating 57 distinct types of VT were compared during 50 electrophysiology tests (mean VT cycle length = 334 +/- 84 msec). Termination of each type of VT was attempted with fixed burst and decremental burst pacing. Both pacing algorithms were delivered in an adaptive fashion with an increasing number of stimuli with each successive attempt at VT termination. Seventy percent of VT episodes were successfully terminated with fixed burst pacing. The mean number of stimuli required for VT termination was 5 +/- 2. Seventy-two percent of VT episodes were successfully terminated with decremental burst pacing. The mean number of stimuli required for VT termination was 5 +/- 2. For fixed burst and decremental burst pacing, the efficacy of VT termination was greater for VTs with a cycle length > 300 msec than for faster VTs (P < 0.05). The efficacy of VT termination and the incidence of VT acceleration were no different for the two pacing algorithms (P > 0.1). The results of this study demonstrate that fixed burst and decremental burst pacing are equally effective in terminating VT and that a single adaptive pacing algorithm is effective in terminating nearly three fourths of VTs.