Substrate Ablation vs Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy for Symptomatic Ventricular Tachycardia

Background: In patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), catheter ablation and antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) reduce ICD shocks, but the most effective approach remains uncertain.

Objectives: This trial compares the efficacy and safety of catheter ablation vs AAD as first-line therapy in ICD patients with symptomatic ventricular tachycardias (VTs).

Methods: The SURVIVE-VT (Substrate Ablation vs Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy for Symptomatic Ventricular Tachycardia) is a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial including patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and appropriated ICD shock. Patients were 1:1 randomized to complete endocardial substrate-based catheter ablation or antiarrhythmic therapy (amiodarone + beta-blockers, amiodarone alone, or sotalol ± beta-blockers). The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, appropriate ICD shock, unplanned hospitalization for worsening heart failure, or severe treatment-related complications.

Results: In this trial, 144 patients (median age, 70 years; 96% male) were randomized to catheter ablation (71 patients) or AAD (73 patients). After 24 months, the primary outcome occurred in 28.2% of patients in the ablation group and 46.6% of those in the AAD group (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.30-0.90; P = 0.021). This difference was driven by a significant reduction in severe treatment-related complications (9.9% vs 28.8%, HR: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.13-0.71; P = 0.006). Eight patients were hospitalized for heart failure in the ablation group and 13 in the AAD group (HR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.23-1.35; P = 0.198). There was no difference in cardiac mortality (HR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.19-4.61; P = 0.929).

Conclusions: In ICD patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and symptomatic VT, catheter ablation reduced the composite endpoint of cardiovascular death, appropriate ICD shock, hospitalization due to heart failure, or severe treatment-related complications compared to AAD. (Substrate Ablation vs Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy for Symptomatic Ventricular Tachycardia [SURVIVE-VT]: NCT03734562).