Concomitant left ventricular assist device placement and cryoablation for treatment of ventricular tachyarrhythmias associated with heart failure.

Abstract

Refractory ventricular tachyarrythmias (VTs) are potentially life-threatening rhythms in patients with cardiomyopathies, particularly when they result in hemodynamic instability. Here we report two cases of patients with intractable ventricular tachyarrythmias that were unresponsive to anti-arrhythmic medications and repeated catheter ablation, and for whom concomitant cryoablation and left ventricular assist device implantation was successfully performed. Both patients tolerated the procedure well with no complications and were free from ventricular tachyarrythmias postoperatively. Concomitant surgical ventricular ablation at the time of left ventricular assist device surgery may be a reasonable approach for this subset of patients as it provides excellent visualization and the ability to ablate both epicardial and endocardial sites.