Tachycardia-induced Cardiomyopathy (Tachycardiomyopathy)

Abstract

The term tachycardia-induced cardio-myopathy or tachycardiomyopathy refers to impairment in left ventricular function secondary to chronic tachycardia, which is partially or completely reversible once the tachyarrhythmia is controlled. Tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy has been shown to occur both in experimental models and in patients with incessant tachyarrhythmia. Data from several studies and from case reports have shown that rate control by means of cardioversion, negative chronotropic agents, and surgical or catheter-based atrio-ventricular node ablation, resulted in significant improvement of systolic function. The diagnosis of tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy is usually made following observation of marked improvement in systolic function after normalization of heart rate. Clinicians should be aware that patients with unexplained systolic dysfunction may have tachycardia-induced cardiomyo-pathy, and that controlling the arrhythmia may result in improvement of systolic function. Key Words: Cardiomyopathy, tachycardia, tachycardiomyopathy, tachyarrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, heart failure