Epidemiology
The estimated incidence of NSVT in the general population (both with and without heart disease) is as high as 4%, although this is most likely an under-estimate. The prevalence of NSVT becomes more common as age increases.[7][8] There do not appear to be any sex-specific differences in the incidence of NSVT. However, men are probably more likely to be affected simply due to a higher incidence of coronary artery disease. The advent of thrombolytic therapy has decreased the overall prevalence of NSVT in patients after myocardial infarction from a range of 12% to 25%, down to 5% to 9%. However, this prevalence varies with left ventricular dysfunction. NSVT has been observed in 12% of patients with ejection fraction (EF) less than 35%, compared with 6% in patients with EF greater than 35%. Using 24-hour ambulatory ECG monitoring, NSVT has been observed in 25% of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and up to 80% of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.[9][10][11][12][13]
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