Management of Patients With Ventricular Arrythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death

Publication Date: August 1, 2018

Key Points

Key Points

Table 1. Table of Definitions of Commonly Used Terms in this Document

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Term Definition or Description
Ventricular tachycardia (VT)

Cardiac arrhythmia of ≥3 consecutive complexes originating in the ventricles at a rate >100 bpm (cycle length: <600 ms). Types of VT:

  • Sustained: VT >30 s or requiring termination due to hemodynamic compromise in <30 s.
  • Nonsustained/unsustained: ≥3 beats, terminating spontaneously.
  • Monomorphic: Stable single QRS morphology from beat to beat
  • Polymorphic: Changing or multiform QRS morphology from beat to beat.
  • Bidirectional: VT with a beat-to-beat alternation in the QRS frontal plane axis, often seen in the setting of digitalis toxicity or catecholaminergic polymorphic VT