Gut Microbiome and Ventricular Arrhythmias

Ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) are the most common causes of sudden cardiac death in patients with diseased hearts. The factors contributing to these deadly arrhythmias are not well understood. The presence of a wide variety of microbial flora in the human GI tract, particularly colon has been well recognized for a long time. There are also emerging links showing the effect of an intact gut microbiome having effects on left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction and hypertension. Gut microbiota has also been associated with outcomes in atrial fibrillation. There is little available in current literature showing a relationship between gut microbiome characteristics and ventricular arrhythmia burden. The gut microbiome has particularly strong interactions with neuroendocrine and immunologic mediators and has effects on the modulation of the autonomic nervous system. These systems are also hypothesized to influence ventricular arrhythmias. The investigators propose to study the relation and interaction between gut microbiome and ventricular arrhythmogenesis.