Popular Cardiologist in Vidyaranyapura, Bangalore • Ventricular tachycardia Ventricular tachycardia is defined as three or more ventricular ectopic beats at a rate over 100/minute. It is said to be sustained if it lasts more than 30 seconds. Most broad-complex tachycardias are ventricular (rather than supraventricular with aberrant conduction). The diagnosis of VT is greatly strengthened if there is a history of myocardial infarction or cardiac failure but, oddly enough, the patient’s haemodynamics are of no help. A number of criteria have evolved over the years to help ascertain the diagnosis of VT over aberrancy. These include: evidence of AV dissociation—P waves can be seen unrelated to the QRS complexes (they are usually visible only at relatively slow VT rates) the presence of supraventricular capture or fusion beats visible retrograde conduction with 2:1 block (P waves visible following every second complex) the presence of monophasic R, qR or QR patterns in V1, provided a septal infarction has not modified a RBBB a taller left rabbit ear in RR' or qRR' complexes in V1 QS complexes in V1 with a slow S descent and sharp upstroke—the opposite of LBBB—or a broad small primary R wave in rS morphology (the Rosenbaum pattern)