Overview on catheter ablation for ventricular arrhythmias

Ventricular arrhythmias are life-threatening and the main cause of sudden cardiac death. The medicinal treatment, mostly with antiarrhythmic drugs has limited success and a relevant range of side effects. Over the last few decades, interventional treatment using catheter ablation has become an established procedure for ventricular arrhythmias. With improved techniques and increasing experience, ablation has in many settings become superior to drug treatment with respect to freedom from recurrences and the long-term side effect profile. The technique and results of catheter ablation vary depending mainly on the underlying disease. The results for idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias , i.e., in patients without structural heart disease, are excellent whereas in patients with structural heart disease success rates are significantly lower and recurrence rates significantly higher. The treatment spectrum of ventricular arrhythmias has been expanded in recent years by new radiotherapeutic procedures, the significance of which cannot be conclusively assessed yet.