Idiopathic Ventricular Fibrillation: Diagnosis, Ablation of Triggers, Gaps in Knowledge, and Future Directions

Idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF) is a diagnosis of exclusion made when no underlying cause is identified in a cardiac arrest survivor. Although the frequency of this diagnosis has declined over time due to advances in diagnostic techniques, it remains a substantial cause of sudden cardiac arrest. Further, IVF tends to recur. This article reviews the criteria for diagnosis, patient characteristics, the two primary arrhythmic phenotypes—short-coupled variant of torsades de pointes and recurrent paroxysmal IVF—and the electrophysiologic features, treatment, and ablation of premature ventricular complexes that can trigger IVF.