chronic

Ventricular tachycardia

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources3 sources

ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class KD69.01 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care · Ventricular Tachycardia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532954/

Verified against2 documents

No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
Ventricular tachycardia - disease-level clinical article (ventricular-tachycardia-clinical.txt)

Verified date2026-08

Presentation reference

Is it this?

Reference only, to read alongside your own examination.

Symptoms — what the patient reports (4)

Palpitations, lightheadedness, fainting, breathlessness, and chest pain [breathlessness · chest pain · palpitations · syncope]
A shock delivered by an implanted defibrillator may be how it presents [shock]
Palpitations brought on by exercise or emotional stress suggest an idiopathic cause [palpitations]
Fainting or cardiac arrest as the first sign points toward an inherited channelopathy [syncope]

Signs — what you find (2)

Fast heart rate, low blood pressure, altered mental status, and jugular cannon waves on exam [hypotension · tachycardia]
It is poorly tolerated, with marked hemodynamic compromise, when left ventricular function is already reduced

Tests (9)

A 12-lead ECG is the essential first test
About 80 percent of wide-complex tachycardia turns out to be ventricular tachycardia
The Brugada and Vereckei algorithms help separate VT from other wide-complex rhythms
Echocardiography is the standard test for assessing cardiac structure and function
CT angiography can rule out coronary disease without invasive catheterization in low-risk patients
Suspected ischemia as the trigger warrants invasive coronary angiography
Genetic testing is used when an inherited channelopathy is suspected
Serum potassium, magnesium, and calcium are checked as part of the workup
High-sensitivity troponin is measured to look for a myocardial infarction

If not this — what else fits (3)

An SVT that conducts abnormally, for instance through a bundle branch block, can also produce a wide QRS complex
Sodium-channel-blocking drug toxicity or a metabolic disturbance such as hyperkalemia can widen the QRS during tachycardia
A prior heart attack, an inherited long QT syndrome, or structural disease such as HCM or ARVC predisposes to it

SourceStatPearls "Ventricular Tachycardia" - disease-level clinical article

Presentation findings are traced to the source above.

NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)

1st line

Adult dose and duration

A potentially fatal arrhythmia, usually in a patient with underlying structural heart disease. A GP's role is recognition on ECG and immediate emergency transfer, not outpatient management. - Refer, with advice

Paediatric dose

Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is implied.

Dose source

No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Why

A potentially fatal arrhythmia, usually in a patient with underlying structural heart disease. A GP's role is recognition on ECG and immediate emergency transfer, not outpatient management.

Cautions

Loss of consciousness, haemodynamic collapse, pulselessness requiring defibrillation, known structural heart disease.
No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
RED FLAG - Hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia requires emergency direct current cardioversion.
RED FLAG - Ventricular tachycardia storm (≥3 episodes in 24h) is a severe life-threatening presentation in structural heart disease.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.