Irritable Focus
Ventricular tachycardia is a type of heart rhythm disturbance that originates in the heart’s lower chambers. An irritable focus is an area of the heart hypersensitive to electrical impulses. Conversely, an irritable focus sends out abnormal electrical impulses, which can result in ventricular tachycardia.
There are a few different factors that can contribute to an irritable focus. These include cardiomyopathies, myocarditis, coronary artery disease, and electrolyte abnormalities. In patients with ventricular tachycardia, electrical impulses originate in unusual areas, such as the sinoatrial node, ectopic focus, or His bundle electography. These areas can all fire at a rate above 100 beats per minute. When these electrical impulses spread through the ventricles too quickly, it results in a condition known as tachycardia, or rapid heart rate. If tachycardia occurs in both ventricles simultaneously, it’s called ventricular tachycardia.
Ventricular tachycardia can be either sustained or non-sustained. Sustained ventricular tachycardia means that episodes last for more than 30 seconds and often require intervention to stop them. On the other hand, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia means that episodes last for less than 30 seconds and often resolve on their own. Sustained ventricular tachycardia is more likely to lead to serious complications like hypotension, cardiac arrest, and sudden cardiac death.
