Donate Help Contact The AHA Sign In Home
American Heart Association
Circulation
Search: search_blue_button Advanced Search
Circulation. 2003;108:1960-1967
Published online before print October 6, 2003, doi: 10.1161/01.CIR.0000095026.19339.BB
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
108/16/1960    most recent
01.CIR.0000095026.19339.BBv1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Timmermans, C.
Right arrow Articles by Wellens, H. J.J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Timmermans, C.
Right arrow Articles by Wellens, H. J.J.
Related Collections
Right arrow Arrhythmias, clinical electrophysiology, drugs

(Circulation. 2003;108:1960.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.


Clinical Investigation and Reports

Idiopathic Left Bundle-Branch Block–Shaped Ventricular Tachycardia May Originate Above the Pulmonary Valve

Carl Timmermans, MD; Luz-Maria Rodriguez, MD; Harry J.G.M. Crijns, MD; Antoon F.M. Moorman, PhD; Hein J.J. Wellens, MD

From the Department of Cardiology, Academic Hospital Maastricht; Department of Anatomy and Embryology (A.F.M.M.), University of Amsterdam; and Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of the Netherlands (H.J.J.W.), Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Correspondence to Carl Timmermans, MD, Department of Cardiology, Academic Hospital Maastricht, CARIM, P. Debyelaan 25, PO Box 5800, Maastricht, The Netherlands. E-mail ccmm.timmermans{at}cardio.unimaas.nl

Received January 24, 2003; de novo received May 23, 2003; revision received August 11, 2003; accepted August 13, 2003.

Background— Idiopathic left bundle-branch block (LBBB)–like ventricular tachycardia (VT) is considered to originate in the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) or from the aortic root. Both regions are derived from the embryonic outflow tract. We now report that also the pulmonary trunk can give rise to VT, suggesting a common etiology of these tachycardias.

Methods and Results— We studied 6 patients with symptomatic idiopathic LBBB-VT using electrophysiological mapping techniques. The VT origin was determined by analyzing the electrograms and the angiographic location of the catheter tip at the successful ablation site or the earliest activation site. Eight VTs were induced. Two VTs, with a mean earliest endocardial activation time of -5 and -20 ms and optimal pace mapping, were successfully ablated in the RVOT. In the remaining 6 VTs, the earliest activation site was found in the pulmonary artery, and, at this site, a sharp potential was present -38±12 ms before the QRS in 5 VTs. The mean earliest endocardial activation time in the RVOT was -1±2 ms. Ablation was attempted in 5 of 6 VTs and resulted in an acutely successful procedure. After a mean follow-up of 10±4 months, 1 of 5 patients had a recurrence.

Conclusions— The site of origin of idiopathic LBBB-VT can be in the root of the pulmonary artery, suggesting a myocardial connection from this site to the RVOT. If no good criteria for ablation in the RVOT are found, detailed mapping of the pulmonary artery should be performed.


Key Words: ablation • arrhythmia • tachycardia




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Circ Arrhythm ElectrophysiolHome page
N. Tabatabaei and S. J. Asirvatham
Supravalvular Arrhythmia: Identifying and Ablating the Substrate
Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol, June 1, 2009; 2(3): 316 - 326.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
EuropaceHome page
E. M. Aliot, W. G. Stevenson, J. M. Almendral-Garrote, F. Bogun, C. H. Calkins, E. Delacretaz, P. D. Bella, G. Hindricks, P. Jais, M. E. Josephson, et al.
EHRA/HRS Expert Consensus on Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Arrhythmias: Developed in a partnership with the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), a Registered Branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS); in collaboration with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA)
Europace, June 1, 2009; 11(6): 771 - 817.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Circ Arrhythm ElectrophysiolHome page
V. M. Christoffels and A. F.M. Moorman
Development of the Cardiac Conduction System: Why Are Some Regions of the Heart More Arrhythmogenic Than Others?
Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol, April 1, 2009; 2(2): 195 - 207.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Circ Arrhythm ElectrophysiolHome page
K. S. Srivathsan, T. J. Bunch, S. J. Asirvatham, W. D. Edwards, P. A. Friedman, T. M. Munger, S. C. Hammill, Y.-M. Cha, P. A. Brady, A. Jahangir, et al.
Mechanisms and Utility of Discrete Great Arterial Potentials in the Ablation of Outflow Tract Ventricular Arrhythmias
Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol, April 1, 2008; 1(1): 30 - 38.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
CirculationHome page
W. G. Stevenson and K. Soejima
Catheter Ablation for Ventricular Tachycardia
Circulation, May 29, 2007; 115(21): 2750 - 2760.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Cardiovasc ResHome page
P. G. Meregalli, A. A.M. Wilde, and H. L. Tan
Pathophysiological mechanisms of Brugada syndrome: Depolarization disorder, repolarization disorder, or more?
Cardiovasc Res, August 15, 2005; 67(3): 367 - 378.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Am Coll CardiolHome page
M. Takemoto, H. Yoshimura, Y. Ohba, Y. Matsumoto, U. Yamamoto, M. Mohri, H. Yamamoto, and H. Origuchi
Radiofrequency catheter ablation of premature ventricular complexes from right ventricular outflow tract improves left ventricular dilation and clinical status in patients without structural heart disease
J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., April 19, 2005; 45(8): 1259 - 1265.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Am Coll CardiolHome page
Y. Sekiguchi, K. Aonuma, A. Takahashi, Y. Yamauchi, H. Hachiya, Y. Yokoyama, Y. Iesaka, and M. Isobe
Electrocardiographic and electrophysiologic characteristics of ventricular tachycardia originating within the pulmonary artery
J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., March 15, 2005; 45(6): 887 - 895.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Am Coll CardiolHome page
H. Tanner, G. Hindricks, P. Schirdewahn, R. Kobza, A. Dorszewski, C. Piorkowski, J.-H. Gerds-Li, and H. Kottkamp
Outflow tract tachycardia with R/S transition in lead V3: Six different anatomic approaches for successful ablation
J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., February 1, 2005; 45(3): 418 - 423.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
CirculationHome page
H. J.J. Wellens and A. P. Gorgels
The Electrocardiogram 102 Years After Einthoven
Circulation, February 10, 2004; 109(5): 562 - 564.
[Full Text] [PDF]