Pathogenesis (development of disease)
Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a cardiac arrhythmia with increased heart rate of >100 beats/min originating from the ventricles (heart chambers). There is a uniform (monomorphic) or variable (polymorphic) electrical activation of the myocardium (heart muscle). This usually arises there from a reentry mechanism (circular excitation).
VTs usually arise from structural heart disease (90% of cases); 10% of cases are so-called idiopathic VTs.
The most common cause of VT is acute myocardial ischemia (reduced blood flow to the myocardium).
Etiology (causes)
Biographic causes
- Congenital heart defects (vitia)
Disease-related causes
- Cardiac diseases of different genesis
- Cardiomyopathy (heart muscle weakness) – esp. dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).
- Coronary artery disease (CAD) – atherosclerosis (arteriosclerosis, arteriosclerosis) of the coronary arteries.
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), after expired.
Other causes
- Fascicular ventricular tachycardia occurring in patients without structural heart disease; differential diagnoses: substrate-related ventricular tachycardias, supraventricular tachycardias.