What are the treatment options for ventricular arrhythmia?

What are the treatment options for ventricular arrhythmia?

Treatment options for ventricular tachycardia are more limited. Implantable defibrillators have been shown to prevent sudden cardiac death caused by ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation. An implantable defibrillator is an electronic device that constantly checks the patient’s heart rhythm. When it detects a very fast, abnormal heart rhythm, it delivers energy to the heart muscle, allowing the heart to beat in a normal rhythm again.

In children, pacemakers are sometimes implanted when a congenital heart defect is repaired and the patient has ventricular arrhythmias. It may also be used in cases in which the child has ventricular arrhythmias and a strong family history of sudden death.