Catheter and surgical ablation for ventricular tachycardia in patients with left ventricular assist devices.

As the number of patients with cardiomyopathy rises, an increasing number of patients are being treated with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). Although these therapies prolong the lifespans of patients with end-stage cardiomyopathy, these patients may be at increased risk for developing ventricular tachycardia (VT). 1 Galand V. Flécher E. Auffret V. et al. Predictors and clinical impact of late ventricular arrhythmias in patients with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices. JACC Clin Electrophysiol. 2018; 4: 1166-1175 Crossref PubMed Scopus (49) Google Scholar ,2 Ziv O. Dizon J. Thosani A. Naka Y. Magnano A.R. Garan H. Effects of left ventricular assist device therapy on ventricular arrhythmias. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2005; 45: 1428-1434 Crossref PubMed Scopus (171) Google Scholar Antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) can be effective in suppressing VT in LVAD patients, but long-term use of these agents, especially amiodarone, can result in side effects and may be associated with increased mortality. 3 Gopinathannair R. Pothineni N.V.K. Trivedi J.R. et al. Amiodarone use and all-cause mortality in patients with a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device. J Am Heart Assoc. 2022; 11e023762 Crossref Scopus (2) Google Scholar ,4 Larson J. Gondi K. Chou A. et al. Association between amiodarone and ventricular tachycardia after left ventricular assist device implant: a single-center experience. J Interv Card Electrophysiol. 2022 Dec 16; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10840-022-01401-y Crossref PubMed Scopus (1) Google Scholar