Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia in Patients with Structural Heart Disease

The exact mechanism of a cardiac arrhythmia becomes fundamentally important when treatment can be directed specifically toward that mechanism. Advances in body surface electrograms and mapping techniques have allowed the causes of ventricular tachyarrhythmias to be pinpointed, thus suggesting viable targets for ablation therapy. However, substantial anatomical and electrophysiological knowledge and catheter-handling skills on the part of the physician are prerequisites for successful ablative technique. Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia in Patients with Structural Heart Disease is an in-depth review of this still-expanding subject, presenting both updated information from the current literature and the personal experiences of the authors.The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive description of radiofrequency catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia from history, basic concepts and pathophysiology of radiofrequency lesion formation, to clinical applications and outcomes of these techniques in various subsets of patients with ventricular tachycardia and underlying structural heart disease. Its 128 pages offer a succinct yet comprehensive exchange of information relative to this still-experimental and important field.This book will benefit readers including clinical electrophysiologists, cardiologists, allied industry, and other health care providers who work with patients suffering from ventricular tachycardia.

Martin Borggrefe, MD, is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine-Cardiology at the University Hospital of Mannheim in Mannheim, Germany.

Günter Breithardt, MD Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Head, Department of Cardiology and Angiology, Hospital of the University of Münster, Germany.