Sustained ventricular tachycardias

Screening for potential causes of ventricular arrhythmias should focus on populations at increased risk of developing the disorder and will allow the institution of primary prevention. The highest-risk patients include those with left ventricular dysfunction (ischaemic or non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy), heart failure symptoms, congenital arrhythmia syndromes (e.g., long QT syndrome, short QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Invasive electrophysiological testing may be useful in certain cases. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator is the most important preventative/therapeutic intervention performed for patients at high risk of developing a sustained ventricular arrhythmia.

See Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Long QT syndrome for more information.