Contributor: John Winkler, MD

Educational Pearls:

• Unstable ventricular tachycardia (VT) typically manifests with syncope, shortness of breath, diaphoresis and/or chest pain with hemodynamic instability
• Electrical cardioversion of unstable ventricular tachycardia is first line treatment
• Starting with a higher energy level (or just using the maximum) when performing cardioversion may set you up for better success as many providers feel the first shock has the highest likelihood of success

References

Dresen, W.F. Ferguson, J.D. Ventricular Arrhythmias. Cardiol Clin. 2018 Feb;36(1):129-139. doi: 10.1016/j.ccl.2017.08.007. Epub 2017 Oct 27.

Goyal, A. et al. Synchronized Electrical Cardioversion.StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020-. 2020 Feb 13.

Summarized by Jackson Roos, MS3 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD