Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Introduction: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmia that originates in the heart’s ventricles and restricts the heart's ability to pump blood effectively. This study provides the first large-scale, global analysis of temporal and demographic trends in VT.
Question: How have the incidence, prevalence, and demographic patterns of VT over the past decade changed globally and within the United States?
Methods: This study is a retrospective, observational cohort study using de-identified electronic health record data from the TriNetX Global Collaborative Network. It analyzes VT incidence, prevalence, and incidence proportion from 2015 to 2024 across 142 healthcare organizations, sampling over 120 million patients worldwide. Demographics of sex, age decile (0-80+), and race were compiled through TriNetX and used as the basis for group comparisons.
Results: In the last decade, there has been a 155% increase in the US incidence proportion of VT and a 114% increase in the global incidence proportion of VT. Global incidence proportion has increased across all age deciles and remained highest in older age deciles. The change in incidence proportion in the last decade was greater in deciles less than 50 (except the 0-9 decile) than in deciles over 50. The incidence proportion of VT was higher in males compared to their female counterparts while the change in incidence proportion in the last decade was higher in females than in males. Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders had the highest incidence proportion of VT and were the only group with a downward trend in incidence proportion in the last decade. Asians had the lowest incidence proportion of VT but showed an upward trend in incidence proportion in the last decade. Incidence rate and prevalence showed similar results as incidence proportion.
Conclusion: VT incidence has increased over the past decade across all ages, sexes, and racial groups, with the highest rates observed in older adults, particularly US men, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander populations. These findings highlight a growing global arrhythmia burden likely driven by rising cardiometabolic risk factors, increased longevity, and improved detection. Understanding these demographic trends is critical for developing targeted prevention strategies, informing healthcare policy, and guiding future research into the underlying causes and disparities in VT risk.