Letter to the Editor An accurate electrocardiographic algorithm for differentiation of tremor-induced pseudo-ventricular tachycardia and true ventricular tachycardia

Tremor-induced electrocardiographic artifacts could be misdiagnosed as ventricular tachycardia (VT). However, there has been no electrocardiographic algorithm effectively differentiating pseudo-VT. In this study, we used 3 electrocardiographic ‘‘signs’’: ‘‘Sinus’’ sign, ‘‘Spike’’ sign, and ‘‘Notch’’ sign, and created an electrocardiographic algorithm. The algorithm was prospectively tested in 98 electrocardiographs (37 tremor-induced pseudo-VT and 61 true VT) Thirty-six out of 37 (97.3%) tremor-induced pseudo-VTs could be accurately diagnosed. In conclusion, this is the first study to systemically analyze the tremor-induced pseudo-VT. Our new electrocardiographic algorithm provides a useful tool for a rapid and accurate diagnosis. D 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.