[Pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapy of ventricular tachyarrhythmias]

One of the main causes of cardiovascular death is the sudden death which is most frequently caused by malign arrhythmias: ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF). These fatal disorders of rhythm are not manageable effectively by surgery, catheter ablation and pharmacology which cannot be thus widely used. Automatic implantable cardiovertors-defibrillators (AICD) have been used since 1980 in the therapy of malign ventricular disorders of rhythm. Modern AICD in more severe ventricular arrhyhmias have reduced the frequency of sudden death from 10-30% yearly to 1%. Our objective was to use preferentially the best therapy possible with the least demanding output and the smallest postoperative risk, i.e. therapy with transvenous AICD. This was enabled by new apparatuses-Phylax 03 and Phylac 06 which are able to give the defibrillation shock by iridium covered electrodes also without subcutaneous so called "patch" electrodes. These circumstances result in a suitable defibrillation threshold. (Fig. 2, Ref. 14.)