Determinants of ventricular tachycardia in patients with coronary artery disease and ventricular aneurysm. Clinical, hemodynamic, and angiographic factors.

Many patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) in whom ventricular tachycardia (VT) develops have transmural scars or frank aneurysms. However, only a minority of patients with ventricular aneurysms go on to develop VT. To determine which factors are associated with the development of VT in patients with aneurysms, we retrospectively reviewed the records of 154 patients with CAD and segments of akinesia or dyskinesia, or both, on left ventriculography. Of the 154 patients, 85 had 24-hour Holter monitoring or 48 consecutive hours of continuous electrocardiographic monitoring in an intensive care unit within 6 months of catheterization. VT occurring at least 10 days after myocardial infarction (MI) or in the chronic phase was recorded in 19 patients (Group I); the remaining 66 patients did not have VT (Group II). The clinical, hemodynamic, and angiographic characteristics of these 2 groups showed no significant difference with respect to age, time from first transmural MI to catheterization, congestive heart failure (CHF), ejection fraction, or presence of dyskinesia. Patients with VT had significantly larger aneurysms and a higher prevalence of septal akinesia or dyskinesia. However, stepwise discriminant analysis revealed septal akinesia or dyskinesia to be the only independently significant variable distinguishing the 2 groups. Thus, septal involvement appears to be a major determinant of VT in patients with CAD and ventricular aneurysm.