Published Online
on August 15, 2005

A more recent version of this article appeared on August 23, 2005

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Submitted on March 1, 2005
Revised on April 22, 2005
Accepted on May 11, 2005

Reversal of Cardiomyopathy in Patients With Repetitive Monomorphic Ventricular Ectopy Originating From the Right Ventricular Outflow Tract

Ravi K. Yarlagadda MD, Sei Iwai MD, Kenneth M. Stein MD, Steven M. Markowitz MD, Bindi K. Shah MD, Jim W. Cheung MD, Vivian Tan MD, Bruce B. Lerman MD, and Suneet Mittal MD^*

From the Maurice and Corinne Greenberg Division of Cardiology, Cornell University Medical Center, New York, NY.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sum2010{at}med.cornell.edu.

Background--Tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy caused by ventricular tachycardia is a well-defined clinical entity. Less well appreciated is whether simple ventricular ectopy can result in cardiomyopathy. We sought to examine a potential causal relationship between repetitive monomorphic ventricular ectopy originating from the right ventricular outflow tract and cardiomyopathy and the role of ablation in reversing this process.

Methods and Results--The study consisted of 27 patients (11 men; age, 47±15 years) with repetitive monomorphic ventricular ectopy, including 8 patients (30%) with depressed ventricular function (ejection fraction 45%). All patients underwent assessment of cardiac structure and function. The burden of ectopy was quantified through 24-hour Holter monitoring. Patients then underwent ablation guided by 3D mapping. After ablation, patients underwent repeated Holter monitoring and reassessment of cardiac function. Patients with depressed ventricular function were more likely to be older than patients with normal function (58±14 versus 42±18 years; P=0.013). However, the burden of ventricular ectopy was similar in patients with (17 859±13 488 ectopic beats per 24 hours) and without (17 541±11 479 ectopic beats per 24 hours; P=0.800) preserved ventricular function. Successful ablation was performed in 23 patients (85%), including 7 of 8 patients with depressed ventricular function. In this latter group, ventricular function improved in all patients (from 39±6% to 62±6%; P=0.017).

Conclusions--Repetitive monomorphic ventricular ectopy (in the absence of sustained ventricular tachycardia) originating from the right ventricular outflow tract is an underappreciated cause of unexplained cardiomyopathy. Successful ablation of the focal source of ventricular ectopy results in normalization of left ventricular function. Patients with ectopy-induced cardiomyopathy are significantly older than patients with preserved ventricular function, which suggests either that older patients are more susceptible to the development of a cardiomyopathy or that the cardiomyopathy has had a longer period of time in which to evolve.

Key words: ablation • cardiomyopathy • ventricular premature complexes

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