Management of electrical storm: The mechanism matters

An electrical storm is a life-threatening syndrome that is characterized by clustering of recurrent episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) within a relatively short period of time. Electrical storms occur in a wide variety of conditions, and successful treatment depends on a correct understanding of the mechanism underlying the recurrent arrhythmias. Management of electrical storms is challenging, but classifying patients according to the type of recurrent arrhythmia (monomorphic VT or polymorphic VT/VF) and the presence or absence of structural heart disease would aid differential diagnosis and allow for more specific therapies.