Autonomic control of ventricular tachycardia: sympathetic neural influence on spontaneous tachycardia 24 hours after coronary occlusion.

This study was performed to determine whether sympathetic nerves influence the rate of ventricular tachycardia occurring spontaneously in dogs 24 hr after occlusion of the anterior descending coronary artery. Seventeen chloralose-anesthetized dogs underwent activation mapping during spontaneous ventricular tachycardia with QRS morphologies similar to those recorded in the conscious state. Bilateral stellate ganglionectomy (n = 8) decreased mean arterial pressure from 71 +/- 4 (mean +/- SE) to 52 +/- 5 mm Hg (p less than .001) and heart rate from 121 +/- 9 to 79 +/- 15 beats/min (p less than .025) by decreasing the number of complexes of ventricular tachycardia from 120 +/- 9 to 49 +/- 15 per minute (p less than .001). Subsequent unilateral sympathetic nerve stimulation (n = 4) was shown to accelerate ventricular tachycardia foci originating from the ipsilateral aspect of the infarction. Regional sympathetic denervation (n = 7) was performed by application of phenol to the epicardium surrounding an electrode at the site of origin of at least one morphology of ventricular tachycardia. Mean arterial pressure did not change, but total heart rate decreased from 122 +/- 9 to 106 +/- 9 beats/min (p less than .01) and the number of complexes of ventricular tachycardia with a morphology arising from the phenol-treated area fell from 68 +/- 12 to 28 +/- 9 (p less than .001). Evidence for regional denervation was documented by prolongation of duration of electrograms and local repolarization times limited to the phenol-treated area. We conclude that sympathetic nerves directly control rate of spontaneous ventricular tachycardia 24 hr after myocardial infarction in the dog.