A recent study revealed that targeted radiation therapy may offer a protective alternative to treating an arrhythmia, ventricular tachycardia (VT), a potentially fatal heart rhythm problem.
According to research published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, radiation therapy can treat heart rate disorder.
VT originates in the ventricular region of the heart and can cause chest pain, dizziness, and even lead to cardiac disorder.
It can be treated by medications or catheter ablation, where a tube destroys the affected cardiac tissues. However, ablation requires anesthesia and carries risks for sick patients.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis reviewed records of 43 high-risk patients whose VT had not replied to drugs.
Half of the participants received a single dose of radiation therapy, while the other half underwent another ablation.
Both treatments controlled cardiac rhythms: Radiation patients average 8.2 months before another persistent kind of arrhythmia, in contrast to 9.7 months for ablation.
However, complications were comparatively lower with radiation. Four patients in the ablation group passed away following the treatment due to adverse effects, while no deaths were reported from the radiation group over three years.
Notably, a very few hospitalisations were reported within a year: 9% after radiation vs 38% for ablation. Overall survival was significantly higher with radiation, though not statistically significant due to the small sample.
“These findings highlight radiation as a potentially safer noninvasive option,” lead researcher Dr. Shannon Jiang said.
Researchers further stated that larger international trials are currently underway.
