Catheter Ablation for Ventricular Arrhythmias in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators are the mainstay of therapy for prevention of sudden cardiac death in high-risk patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Catheter ablation is a useful option for patients with recurrent, drug refractory monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT), and device therapy. Compared with other nonischemic substrates, there are limited data on the role and outcomes of catheter ablation in HCM. The challenges of VT ablation in HCM patients include deep intramural and epicardial substrates, suboptimal power delivery, and higher recurrence due to progression of disease. Patient selection, using cardiac MRI scar localization, and optimizing ablation techniques can improve outcomes in these patients.

Keywords: Apical aneurysm; Epicardial ablation; Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; Ventricular arrhythmias; Ventricular tachycardia.