Radiofrequency catheter ablation of premature ventricular complexes from right ventricular outflow tract improves left ventricular dilation and clinical status in patients without structural heart disease

OBJECTIVES The present study evaluated clinical benefits of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFA) for premature ventricular complexes from right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT-PVC) in patients without structural heart disease. BACKGROUND It is unknown whether PVC causes left ventricular (LV) dilation, which is a well-recognized precursor of LV dysfunction and heart failure, and whether eliminating PVC by RFA produces clinical benefits in patients with RVOT-PVC. METHODS Frequency of PVC per total heart beats by 24-h Holter monitoring, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic internal dimension (LVDd), mitral regurgitation (MR) by echocardiogram, cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) by chest radiogram, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class of 40 patients with RVOT-PVC without structural heart disease were evaluated before and 6 to 12 months after RFA. RESULTS Before RFA, a subgroup of patients with frequent (>20%) PVC demonstrated significantly enlarged LVDd and CTR, reduced LVEF, increased MR, and deteriorated NYHA functional class as compared to the subgroup with rare (<20%) PVC (54 1 mm vs. 45 +/- 1 mm, 52 +/- 2% vs. 46 +/- 1%, 66 +/- 2% vs. 73 +/- 2%, 1.2 +/- 0.2 degree vs. 0.4 +/- 0.1 degree, and 1.8 +/- 0.2 vs. 1.3 +/- 0.1, respectively; p < 0.05). Furthermore, ablating RVOT-PVC readily produced the improvement of all these abnormalities (47 +/- 1 mm, 41 +/- 1%, 72 +/- 2%, 0.3 +/- 0.1 degree, and 1.0 +/- 0.0, respectively; p < 0.05 compared with before RFA). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that frequent (>20%) RVOT-PVC may be a possible cause of LV dysfunction and/or heart failure, and RFA produces clinical benefits in these patients.