Errant pacer: case report

Abstract

Introduction. Currently in the United States there is a high mortality rate due to heart disease, with ventricular arrhythmias causing approximately 300,000 deaths per year due to ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. The risk of ventricular tachycardia affects individuals according to their cardiac and genetic conditions, being fatal in patients with structural heart disease due to direct involvement of the myocardium. Objective. To identify the most important aspects of the clinical case of a patient with ventricular tachycardia in order to provide nursing care for the well-being and recovery of health.  Methodology. The clinical case study was descriptive and retrospective. The technique used for the collection of the information of the case will be through the review of clinical history and for the description of the pathology will be through the collection of articles extracted from recognized databases such as: Scopus, PorQuest, Pubmed, web of science, lilacs. Inclusion criteria: articles published in the last 5 years, in Spanish and English, attaching the patient's informed consent. Results. An 81-year-old male patient was referred to the cardiology outpatient clinic for cardiovascular evaluation. Personal History: Chronic ischemic heart disease, 2-vessel coronary artery disease treated with its 2 stent not requiring territories, Holter Holter monomorphic ventricular extrasystoles, isolated, bigeminy, in duplicate with 3 episodes of ventricular tachycardia. Conclusion.  Prolonged ventricular tachycardia can cause heart failure, left ventricular dysfunction and cardiomyopathy, situations that are reversed once the arrhythmias are resolved. Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy has significantly decreased the risk of sudden cardiac death, but, on the other hand, has led to frequent ICD shocks as an emerging problem, which are associated with poor quality of life, frequent hospitalizations and increased mortality. General area of study: medicine. Specific area of study: cardiology. Type of study: Clinical cases.