Incessant ventricular tachycardia in fulminant lymphocytic myocarditis: Evidence for origin in the Purkinje system and successful treatment with ablation

Abstract

Q v Q v ntroduction ulminant myocarditis is characterized by an acute critical llness at presentation but excellent long-term survival if the atient survives the acute episode. In pediatric patients ith acute heart failure secondary to acute lymphocytic yocarditis, freedom from death or transplantation was 9% during follow-up. Although ventricular arrhythmia on nitial presentation occurred in a minority of these patients, entricular arrhythmia was the only significant independent redictor of mortality in one series. The mechanism of entricular arrhythmias in acute myocarditis is unknown, nd investigation is hampered by the rapidly changing subtrate. Similarly, treatment can be challenging because drug herapy is not always effective.