Ihab Elsokkari

Background: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) storm is associated with significantly increased morbidity, mortality, and exponential healthcare utilization. Although catheter ablation (CA) may be curative, there are limited data directly comparing outcomes of early CA with initial medical therapy. Methods: We compared outcomes of patients presenting with VT storm treated with initial CA versus those treated with initial medical therapy during their first storm presentation in an observational study. Retrospective data from the host institution from January 2014 to April 2020 of 129 patients with their first VT storm presentation were analyzed (58 underwent initial CA, 71 underwent treatment with initial medical therapy). Outcomes were compared in follow-up. Results: Median time to initial CA was 6 days. Over a median follow-up of 702 days, patients who underwent initial CA compared with those treated with initial medical therapy had significantly less: (i) VA recurrence (43% versus 92%; P =0.002); (ii) VT storm recurrence (28% versus 73%; P P =0.002); (iv) iatrogenic complications (at 12 months: 17% versus 45%; P P =0.01); (vi) total number of hospitalizations (median 1 versus 4; P P <0.001). There were no intraprocedural deaths in patients treated with early CA. Conclusion: In an observational setting in which patients presenting with storm, early CA appears superior to initial medical therapy in terms of VT recurrence, storm recurrence, iatrogenic complications, cardiovascular hospitalizations, and cumulative days in hospital in follow-up.

Contact force-sensing technology has become a widely used addition to catheter ablation procedures. Neither the optimal contact force required to achieve adequate lesion formation in the ventricle, nor the impact of left ventricular access route on contact force has been fully clarified.

Background: Patients with ventricular tachycardia (VT) postmyocardial infarction (MI) are a higher risk group with significant morbidity and mortality. We examined the impact of prior coronary revascularization on clinical outcomes in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and VT.Methods: The VANISH trial randomized 259 patients with prior MI and antiarrhythmic drug‐refractory VT to receive escalated medical therapy or catheter ablation. Clinical outcomes were compared according to whether patients have undergone prior revascularization procedures. The primary outcome was a composite of death, appropriate implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) shock, or VT storm. The secondary outcomes included elements of the primary outcome, hospitalization, and any ventricular arrhythmia.Results: 190 patients (73%) had prior coronary revascularization. Revascularization group had more men (97% vs 83%; P = 0.0003) and patients in that group were older (mean age 69.3 ± 7.6 vs 66.7 ± 9.2; P = 0.04), had more renal insufficiency (22.6% vs 8.7%; P = 0.01), and were more likely to have an implanted cardiac resynchronization device (23% vs 10%, P = 0.03) as compared with the nonrevascularized patients. There were no significant differences in baseline medication use. There was a trend toward fewer hospitalizations in the revascularization group (64% vs 77%; P = 0.07); there were no differences in the individual outcomes of mortality, VT storm, ICD shocks, recurrent MI, or cardiac failure.Conclusions: In this cohort of patients with an ischemic cause for VT, a history of prior coronary revascularization was not associated with a reduction in ventricular arrhythmia or mortality.