Trends and Disparities in Ventricular Tachycardia-Related Mortality According to Cardiomyopathy Type in the United States.

Background: Recent data show increased ventricular tachycardia (VT) related mortality. We aimed to investigate the trends and disparities of VT-related mortality according to cardiomyopathy subtypes.

Methods: Mortality and demographic data were obtained from the CDC Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database between 1999 and 2020. VT-related mortality was defined as the underlying cause of death and ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) or nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) as the contributing cause of death. The direct method of standardization was utilized to estimate age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs). Temporal trends were evaluated using log-linear regression models.

Results: A total of 15 888 deaths were related to both VT and ICM, and 16 777 were due to both VT and NICM. There was a significant increase in VT and ICM-related mortality between 2006 and 2020 with an APC of +1.38% (p < 0.05). Similarly, VT and NICM-related mortality increased between 2008 and 2020 with an APC of +0.60% (p < 0.05). ICM had a higher AAMR in males [6.23 (6.12-6.34)], Whites [3.49 (3.43-3.54)], Hispanics [2.11 (1.95-2.26)], and the Midwest region [3.73 (3.61-3.85)] compared to NICM. In contrast, NICM had a higher AAMR in females [1.57 (1.52-1.61)], Black or African Americans [5.02 (4.84-5.20)], and the South region [3.10 (3.03-3.18)]. p for all trend < 0.05.

Conclusions: Real-world data show significant differences in VT-related mortality according to cardiomyopathy subtypes with prominent sex, race, and regional disparities. Clinical and public health strategies are needed to address inequities and improve outcomes.