Catheter ablation in patients with electrical storm: benefit of a network of cooperating clinics

Abstract

Catheter ablation has been shown to be an effective treatment for rhythm stabilization in patients with multiple ventricular arrhythmia episodes called electrical storm (ES). These procedures may be complex and are usually only performed in highly specialized and experienced centers. Still the optimum timing for catheter ablation in ES remains unclear.Early access to perform acute ablation should be considered in patients who are not rhythm stabilized with antiarrhythmic medical treatment. Also patients with hemodynamic compromise (cardiogenic shock) are candidates for an early interventional strategy. In specialized centers it is consensus to perform catheter ablation in these patients as early as eligible especially when considering a high early and late mortality without interventional management. Establishing a structured protocol for treatment and admission to EP centers has helped to further reduce pre-ablation mortality and may optimize treatment of ES. Large scale networking to optimize and structure access to experienced electrophysiology centers is of importance to create a basis for optimizing treatment strategies.