Abstract
The modalities currently available for treatment and prevention of life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VT/VF) are various antiarrhythmic drugs, catheter ablation and implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) . However, the usefulness of these therapeutic options is limited by either low efficiency, intolerable side effects, or reduced quality of life (QOL) of the recipient. Fundamentally innovative antiarrhythmic strategies are, therefore, a matter of great concern to cardiologists.
We have investigated the possibility of radiotherapy in the prevention of fatal ventricular arrhythmias in rabbit model, to develop future strategies for preventing sudden cardiac mortalities. We previously reported that targeted external heavy ion irradiation (THIR, 15 Gy) applied to rabbit hearts upregulates connexin43 (Cx43) for 2 weeks thereafter, and reduces ventricular vulnerability in association with an improvement in the spatial homogeneity of repolarization. A single application of THIR to normal rabbit hearts causes upregulation and altered cellular distribution of Cx43 in LV tissue for at least 1 year. This long-lasting effect on gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) may bring this technique closer to becoming a therapy for the abolishment of ventricular arrhythmias associated with structural heart disease.
