Ventricular Tachycardia: Causes

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

Other causes

  • Fascicular ventricular tachycardia occurring in patients without structural heart disease; differential diagnoses: substrate-related ventricular tachycardias, supraventricular tachycardias.