Catheter Ablation Versus Amiodarone for Shock Prophylaxis in Defibrillator Patients With Ventricular Tachycardia
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
2012-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs) provide a shock or pacing therapy to bring
back a normal heart beat when a patient experiences a dangerous abnormal heart rhythm such as
ventricular tachycardia (VT). ICDs are very successful in bringing back a normal heart beat
when VT occurs, but they do not prevent further dangerous heart rhythms from occurring. This
study is designed to determine the best way to manage patients who have an ICD and who
continue to have episodes of VT. There are two methods for treatment the VT: 1) Ablation, and
2) Medication.
An ablation procedure involves placing a flexible catheter (insulated wire) in the groin area
and threading it into the heart. After the doctor has located the affected area responsible
for the VT, radiofrequency energy is delivered by the power generator through the catheter to
the inside of the heart. The radiofrequency energy ablates (burns) a small area of the heart
tissue thought to cause the VT.
A medication called Amiodarone is an "anti-arrhythmic" prescribed to prevent abnormal heart
rhythms from recurring.
The purpose of this study is to compare these two different methods for treating VT.
Treatment with ablation and amiodarone are both considered the standard of care for patients
with VT but they have not been compared directly in a study like this before.
Phase:
Phase 3
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Population Health Research Institute
Collaborators:
Abbott Medical Devices Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation St. Jude Medical