A Case of Hypokalemia-induced Bidirectional Ventricular Tachycardia

Abstract Background: Bidirectional ventricular tachycardia (BVT) is a rare but serious arrhythmia. Hypokalemia is commonly seen in clinical practice, but hypokalemia-induced BVT has rarely been reported. Case presentation: A 74-year-old male patient with the symptom of chest distress and palpitation was admitted due to frequent discharge of ICD for 4 days. Before admission, the patient experienced diarrhea after intake of crabs, and felt frequent discharge of ICD with a total of about 17 discharges in 4 days. He had no history of digitalis use. Serum potassium after admission was 3.1 mmol/L and the ECG was consistent with BVT. The diagnosis was ventricular tachycardia, electrical storm and hypokalemia, and ventricular tachycardia was completely relieved after the correction of hypokalemia. Conclusions: After correction of hypokalemia in this patient, the episode of BVT was terminated and no recurrence of BVT was noted during long-term follow-ups, confirming the diagnosis of hypokalemia-induced BVT.