# Ventricular Tachycardia --- **Ventricular tachycardia** or **vtac**/**VT**is a type of [[arrhythmia]] that's considered a medical emergency. In vtac one's [[heart rate|pulse rate]] is very high and the rhythm is highly irregular (which is what differentiates it from a [[sinus tachycardia]]). It is a *ventricular* arrhythmia, which means the arrhythmic signals are originating from the ventricles. Because of the way [[cardiac conduction]] works, if the ventricles (i.e. the VA node) are sending the faulty signal, there is no subsequent node to course correct. As such ventricular arrhythmias are quite dangerous, and even short runs of vtac can be a problem. Ventricular tachycardia can be identified by it's absent P and T waves and it's "wide and weird" QRS complexes (longer than 0.12 seconds). The rate is usually 100-200 BPM. ![[ventricular tachycardia.png]] >[!abstract]- Normal sinus rhythm for reference >![[normal sinus.png]] **Pulseless vtac** can occur when the ECG is displaying vtac, but the heart is unable to actually pump the blood. This is a *medical emergency*. It's vitally important to make sure to actually check the pulse instead of relying on the monitor. ## Causes - ischemia/infarction - increased cardiac workload - [[glycosides|digitalis]] toxicity - hypoxia - [[acidosis]] - [[electrolytes|electrolyte imbalances]] - [[potassium]] - [[magnesium]] - [[calcium]] ## Signs & Symptoms ## Treatment Ventricular tachycardia is a medical emergency, and needs treatment right away. Call an RRT or code and begin high quality CPR and ACLS. The first priority is to maximize O2. There is less blood getting to the tissues, so we want to make sure that blood is as originated as possible. - Meds - IV - [[potassium channel blockers|amiodarone]] - Side effects: - hypotension - bradycardia - not common but serious: pulmonary fibrosis/ARDS - [[lidocaine]] - Side effects: confusion - long term - amiodarone - ICD ## Nursing Considerations Sometimes you will have an ECG tech to monitor the patients, but it's important for the nurse to track the frequency and length of VT runs. ___