What treatment is indicated for patients in unstable ventricular tachycardia?

For patients experiencing unstable ventricular tachycardia (VT), synchronized cardioversion is the indicated treatment. Unstable VT is characterized by the patient's impaired consciousness, altered mental status, hypotension, or signs of shock. Synchronized cardioversion delivers a shock that is timed with the patient's electrical activity, thereby minimizing the risk of inducing ventricular fibrillation, which can occur if an unsynchronized shock is delivered.

In this emergency situation, the goal is to restore a normal rhythm while also ensuring the patient's safety, and synchronized cardioversion effectively achieves that for unstable patients. This procedure is most often performed along with sedation for the patient to ensure comfort during the intervention.

While other treatment methods, such as intravenous fluid resuscitation, can play a role in stabilizing certain conditions, they do not address the immediate life-threatening aspect of unstable VT as directly and effectively as synchronized cardioversion does.