Left ventricular epicardial outflow tract tachycardia: a new distinct subgroup of outflow tract tachycardia.

Abstract

The present study investigated the incidence and ECG characteristics of ventricular tachycardias (VTs) originating from the left ventricular (LV) epicardium. Thirty-one consecutive patients with VT or premature ventricular contraction originating from the outflow tract (OT-VT) underwent catheter ablation. Twenty-one OT-VTs were ablated from the endocardium in the right ventricular (RV) OT and 3 were ablated from the endocardium in the LVOT. In the remaining 7 patients, 4 (13%) OT-VTs were LV epicardial in origin, and 1 of these was ablated from the left sinus of Valsalva. The ECG characteristics of OT-VT of epicardial origin included prominent tall R-waves in the inferior leads, an R-wave in V1 and an S-wave in V2, precordial R-wave transition in V2-4, a deep QS-wave in aVL, and no S-wave in V6. In addition, there was an atypical left bundle branch block morphology with an inferior axis. These findings were observed during pacing from several sites in the LV epicardium. Furthermore, pacing from the left sinus of Valsalva caused a relatively tall R in V1, deep S-wave in V2 and a tall R-wave with a shallow S-wave in V3, as well as tall R-waves in the inferior leads, which represented intermediate characteristics between RV endocardial OT-VT and LV endocardial OT-VT. In conclusion, OT-VT originating from the LV epicardium is not uncommon and has characteristic ECG findings. Some of them can be ablated from the left sinus of Valsalva.