The electroanatomic mapping system
Carto® with its combination of
anatomic and electrophysiologic information has substantially
improved our understanding of arrhythmia mechanisms and
substrates in patients with ventricular tachycardia (VT) and
structural heart disease. Identification of the individual
arrhythmogenic substrate and successful ablation guided by the
combination of sinus rhythm voltage mapping and conventional
electrophysiologic techniques like pace and
activation/entrainment mapping are best described for patients
with recurrent VT in remote myocardial infarction. In about
75–90% of the patients, the target VT can be ablated with acute
success and the patients remain free of any VT recurrence in up
to 75%. First results of electroanatomically guided ablation in
patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia are
promising. Data on ablation of VT in other structural heart
diseases are very limited, since the arrhythmogenic substrate is
very diffuse, e. g., in dilated cardiomyopathy, or there are
only small patient numbers, e. g., for cardiac sarcoidosis or
monomorphic VT after repair of congenital heart disease.