NONPHARMACOLOGICAL THERAPY OF TACHYARRHYTHMIAS



Electrical or surgical therapy may be useful in some patients with supraventricular or ventricu­lar tachyarrhythmias (Table 8-8). Pacemakers ac­tivated by the patient or automatically when the pacemaker senses tachycardia can deliver timed single or multiple extrastimuli to the atrium, ven­tricle, or both chambers to interrupt the tachy­cardia circuit and terminate the arrhythmia. Be­fore implantation, detailed electrophysiological evaluation should be performed to determine the pacing protocol that most safely and reliably ter­minates the tachycardia.