Ventricular tachycardia ablation can slow rapidly beating hearts

By Nick Rees

A healthy adult human rate should beat between 60 and 100 times per minute when a person is at rest, but for those suffering from ventricular tachycardia, that rate may rocket as high as 300 beats per minute.

These increases in rhythm, which stem from one of the ventricles in the heart, may occur in short bursts or happen for prolonged periods of time and can lead to ventricular fibrillation and even cardiac arrest. Other symptoms include dizziness, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, heart palpitations, chest pain and fainting. Some people, however, display no symptoms.

A June 2009 report by a task force comprised of the European Heart Rhythm Association in conjunction with the Heart Rhythm Society came to an expert consensus that ventricular ablation therapy, thanks to advances in technology and a greater understanding of the procedure, is not only safe but also highly effective, even in patients with advanced heart disease.

"I specialize in ventricular tachycardia ablation," Dr. Mohammed Khan, MD, selected as a Chicago Top Doctor by TopTierMD as a top rated cardiologist in Chicago, says. "It's a procedure that can take anywhere from three to seven hours, but patients need it to rid themselves of these deadly fast rhythms.”

"The stakes are higher with this type of rhythm over an atrial problem because patients have a higher risk of mortality with these rhythms. With an atrial tachycardia, you have a higher risk of stroke but, if you don't get rid of ventricular tachycardia, you have a large chance of death."

Ventricular ablation does not require a full frontal chest opening. Instead, the relatively non-invasive procedure involves inserting narrow, flexible wires called catheters into the groin that are then wound up into the heart. A fluoroscope is used to navigate the catheter.

When the catheter reaches the heart, data is gathered by electrodes and electrical measurements are made to pinpoint the location of the problem. One the damaged area is confirmed, energy is used to destroy a small amount of tissue and end the electrical flow disturbance that caused the fast rhythms.

"Recovery time is pretty quick with ventricular ablation, though you're often dealing with patients who are sicker and dealing with more of a life threatening illness," Dr. Khan says. "That makes it vitally important to have electrophysiology lab and an electrophysiology staff set up to handle everything.

"To get the best outcomes, and what aids in our success rates, is having the right equipment and facility to do a procedure like this. Doctors need to have a staff that is trained well because, in a lot of these procedures, we'll have three, four or five people in the room to assist in the procedure."

Dr. Mohammed Khan, MD, was selected by TopTierMD as a Chicago Top Doctor and is considered Best in Cardiology in Chicago. He specializes in atrial fibrillation, ablation and ICDs.