What is ventricular tachycardia?

4 May 2021

It is a heart rhythm condition in which the heart beats faster than usual (exceeding 100 beats per minute), causing it to be unable to adequately pump blood to the body, so if it is not diagnosed and treated early, it can lead to stroke, heart failure, or cardiac arrest, with fatal consequences.

Ventricular tachycardia is due to a change in the electrical impulses of the heart, caused by any of the following:

Congenital heart anomalies.
Family history of heart rhythm disorders.
Previous heart attacks.
Excessive use of tobacco, coffee, drugs, or alcohol.
Any abnormality that causes overexertion of the heart muscle or damages its tissue.
Deficiency of blood flow to the heart due to atherosclerosis.
Electrolyte imbalance.
Heart or lung disease.
Stress.
Reaction to certain medications.

Signs and symptoms Ventricular tachycardia

Confusion and daze.
Dizziness.
Difficulty breathing.
Palpitations.
Tightness and pain in the chest.
Fainting.

See your doctor immediately if you have these symptoms since ventricular tachycardia can put your life at risk.

Possible complications depend on the duration of the tachycardia, its frequency, and rhythm, as well as your heart’s general health conditions, but the following are among the most common:

Loss of consciousness.
Heart failure.
Heart attack.

Diagnosis and treatment Ventricular tachycardia

Your doctor, in addition to reviewing your symptoms and medical history, will perform a physical examination and order the following tests to verify the diagnosis:

Coronary angiography.
Echocardiogram.
Electrocardiogram.
Event monitor.
Holter monitor.
Chest x-ray.
MRI.
Stress test.
Tilt table test.
Electrophysiological test.
Computed tomography.

Treatment will depend on the cause of your tachycardia, but antidysrhythmic medications will likely be prescribed to restore normal heart rhythm.

For sustained ventricular tachycardia, you will need to be treated with a defibrillator, and there are various surgical procedures to prevent future episodes, including catheter ablation and placement of an implantable defibrillator.

At the Cardiovascular Center, we offer you a wide range of prevention, diagnosis, timely treatment, and follow-up services to take care of you through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary care model. Come to us, we want to hear your heart.

Related centers and departments Ventricular tachycardia

Cardiovascular Center
Radiology and Molecular Imaging
Clinical Laboratory

Fuentes:

texashaert.com
secardiologia.es
mayoclinic.org
medlineplus.gov
msdmanuals.com
fundacionmexicanadelcorazón.org
medigraphic.org
Dorantes SM, Castro HJA, Castañeda CO. Role of the Purkinje system and right ventricular outflow tract in malignant ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death. CorSalud. 2020;12(1):77-84.
Bautista-Vargas, William-Fernando. Pre-síncope y ablación de la contracción ventricular prematura con origen en la banda moderadora. Cardiovasc Metab Sci. 2020;31(4):131-136. doi:10.35366/97545.
Cueva-Parra Á, Neach-De la Vega D, Ortiz-Solís W, et al. Protocolo para la prevención de arritmias ventriculares debido al tratamiento en pacientes con COVID-19. Cardiovasc Metab Sci. 2020;31(Suppl:3):222-228.
Añas-Méndez ML, Aquino-Bruno H, Enriquez-Silverio A, et al. Cardioversión eléctrica de taquicardia ventricular en el embarazo: reporte de un caso. Ginecol Obstet Mex. 2019;87(05):319-323.

How can we help you?

The dissemination of the content of this material is for informational purposes only and does not replace, under any circumstance or condition, a consultation with a specialist doctor, for which the Saludora Medical Center is not responsible for the different use that may be given to it. If you require more information related to the subject, we suggest you contact the specialist doctor you trust directly.

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Comparison of COVID-19 vaccines

Pfizer-
BioNTech

Pfizer-BioNTech

What is its effectiveness and what does it refer to?

Vaccine type: mRNA
Effectiveness: 95% after the second dose in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.

No Does not contain egg, latex, or preservatives.

How many doses are needed?
Two doses are needed, at least 21 days apart (or up to six weeks apart, if necessary).

Who should or shouldn’t get the vaccine?
People who should receive the vaccine are those over 16 years old.
People who should not receive the vaccine are those who have a history of anaphylactic shock (severe allergy) or who are allergic to any component of this vaccine such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) or polysorbate.

What are the possible side effects of the vaccine?
Pain where the injection was given, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, fever, nausea, malaise, and swollen lymph nodes.

How long will it take for me to be protected and what does it protect me from?
After 14 days of having the complete scheme (after the administration of the 2nd dose), the protection period is still under study. It protects us from serious COVID-19 or requiring hospitalization.

Moderna

What is its effectiveness and what does it refer to?

Vaccine type: mRNA
Effectiveness: 94.5% after the second dose in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.

Does not contain egg, latex, or preservatives.

How many doses are needed?
Two doses are needed, at least 28 days apart (or up to six weeks apart, if necessary).

Who should or shouldn’t get the vaccine?
People who should receive the vaccine are those over 18 years old.
People who should not receive the vaccine are those who have a history of anaphylactic shock (severe allergy) or who are allergic to any component of this vaccine.

What are the possible side effects of the vaccine?
Pain where the injection was given, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, fever, nausea, and swollen lymph nodes in the arm in which you received the injection.

Janssen/
Johnson
& Johnson

Janssen/ Johnson & Johnson

What is its effectiveness and what does it refer to?

Vector-based vaccine.
Effectiveness: 72.0% in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.
85% in the prevention of severe COVID-19.

Does not contain egg, latex, or preservatives./strong>

How many doses are needed?
Only one dose in needed.

What are the possible side effects of the vaccine?
Pain where the injection was given, headache, fatigue, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea.

How long will it take for me to be protected and what does it protect me from?
After 28 days of having the complete scheme (the last dose applied), the protection period is still under study. It protects us from 85% serious COVID-19 or requiring hospitalization.

AstraZeneca
and
Oxford
University

AstraZeneca and Oxford University

What is its effectiveness and what does it refer to?

Adenovirus vector-based vaccine.
Effectiveness: 82% after the second dose in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.

How many doses are needed?
Two doses are needed, at least 56 days apart (or up to 84 days apart, if necessary).

What are the possible side effects of the vaccine?
Pain where the injection was given, fatigue, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, and fever, which were mild to moderate in intensity and disappeared within 48 hours of vaccination.

Sputnik V

What is its effectiveness and what does it refer to?

Adenovirus vector-based vaccine.
Effectiveness: 92% after the second dose in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.

How many doses are needed?
Two doses are needed, at least 21 days apart (or up to six weeks apart, if necessary).

What is ventricular tachycardia?

Signs and symptoms Ventricular tachycardia

Diagnosis and treatment Ventricular tachycardia

Related centers and departments Ventricular tachycardia

Fuentes:

Index

Specialist in Ventricular tachycardia