Adrenergic nervous system influences on the induction of ventricular tachycardia.

Background: Sudden cardiac death is a major cause of mortality in western countries and the ventricular tachyarrhythmias are mainly involved in this regard. The adrenergic autonomic nervous system has influences in provoking life-threatening arrhythmias, and the prevention of such arrhythmias with beta-blockers supports this viewpoint. To evaluate the effect of the adrenergic nervous system and some catecholamine-releasing stimuli on the induction of ventricular tachycardia, we decided to explore the occurrence of ventricular tachycardia in patients subjected to three consecutive tests, exercise testing, isoproterenol infusion, and mental stress.