Bipolar Catheter Ablation for the Treatment of Refractory Scar-Related Ventricular Arrhythmia

Detailed Summary

This non-randomized study will examine the safety and efficacy of irrigated bipolar radiofrequency (RF) ablation in the treatment of ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients for whom standard VT unipolar RF ablation has been unsuccessful. VT is a serious abnormality of the heart's electrical system. Ablation is a procedure that cauterizes heart tissue using catheters (long tubes that can be moved within or along the outside of the heart). Cauterizing the heart tissue is accomplished by using heat to damage the abnormal heart tissue that is not working well so that it can stop affecting the rest of the heart. Usually, heat is delivered using a unipolar catheter, in which energy travels from the catheter tip to a grounding pad. This research study seeks to find out if a bipolar ablation catheter, in which the energy travels between two catheter tips on either side of the heart muscle, can be used to eliminate the arrhythmia when the unipolar ablation is unsuccessful. The hypothesis is that the increased current density and improved rates of transmural lesion creation seen with bipolar RF ablation will lead to successful arrhythmia termination with minimal or no increased risk of complication.

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