Survival following recurrent sustained ventricular tachycardia in a low-resource setting: Challenges of management

Abstract

Sustained ventricular tachycardia is a life-threatening emergency contributing to cardiac mortality worldwide. Antiarrhythmic medications, Implantable  cardioverter defibrillator and catheter ablation are the cornerstones for its management. Unfortunately, they are not accessible and/or affordable to  patients been in our setting. 42year old obese, retroviral positive, known ischemic heart disease patient, was admitted twice due to recurrent  monomorphic ventricular tachycardia and successfully cardioverted with amiodarone infusion and automated external defibrillator respectively, He could  not have coronary angiography and electrophysiology studies done due to unavailability and cost. Optimal management of ventricular tachycardia  continues to be a challenge for cardiologists in developing countries.