47 research outputs found

    EHRA expert consensus document on the management of arrhythmias in frailty syndrome, endorsed by the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS), Latin America Heart Rhythm Society (LAHRS), and Cardiac Arrhythmia Society of Southern Africa (CASSA)

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    There is an increasing proportion of the general population surviving to old age with significant chronic disease, multimorbidity, and disability. The prevalence of pre-frail state and frailty syndrome increases exponentially with advancing age and is associated with greater morbidity, disability, hospitalization, institutionalization, mortality, and health care resource use. Frailty represents a global problem, making early identification, evaluation, and treatment to prevent the cascade of events leading from functional decline to disability and death, one of the challenges of geriatric and general medicine. Cardiac arrhythmias are common in advancing age, chronic illness, and frailty and include a broad spectrum of rhythm and conduction abnormalities. However, no systematic studies or recommendations on the management of arrhythmias are available specifically for the elderly and frail population, and the uptake of many effective antiarrhythmic therapies in these patients remains the slowest. This European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) consensus document focuses on the biology of frailty, common comorbidities, and methods of assessing frailty, in respect to a specific issue of arrhythmias and conduction disease, provide evidence base advice on the management of arrhythmias in patients with frailty syndrome, and identifies knowledge gaps and directions for future research

    Atypical access to typical atrial flutter.

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    Typical atrial flutter with reentry around the tricuspid valve can easily be cured by ablating the cavotricuspid isthmus. In the reported case, transvenous access to the tricuspid valve was not possible because of a total cavopulmonal connection in congenital mitral atresia. Successful angioplasty of a small fenestration between the total cavopulmonal connection and the genuine right atrium (RA) allowed anterograde transvenous access to the RA. Electroanatomic RA mapping confirmed peritricuspid reentry, and successful ablation was performed

    Management of acute coronary syndrome in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation: Results of the European Heart Rhythm Association Survey

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    Management of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) presenting with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) may be particularly challenging. Given the lack of sound evidence-based recommendations for the management of such patients, the aim of this European Heart Rhythm Association survey was to provide an insight into current practice in Europe regarding management of these patients. Overall, 41 centres submitted a valid response. The majority of respondents were university hospitals (85%). The survey has shown that the principal aspects of the European Society of Cardiology guidelines on the management of AF, and those on ACS, have been adopted. The survey highlights two important areas of uncertainty regarding the optimal composition and duration of antithrombotic therapy with multiple drugs and the optimal regimen(s) of novel oral anticoagulants in patients with AF and ACS. © 2014 Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2014. For permissions please email: [email protected]

    Stroke and bleeding risk evaluation in atrial fibrillation: Results of the European Heart Rhythm Association survey

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    The aim of this European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) survey was to assess clinical practice in relation to stroke and bleeding risk evaluation in atrial fibrillation, particularly regarding the use of risk evaluation schemes, among members of the EHRA electrophysiology (EP) research network. In this EP Wire survey, we have provided some insights into current practice in Europe for the use of these risk assessment schemes. There were some obvious practice differences. However, reassuring information on current practice in Europe was evident, but more focus on renal function is warranted, especially facing the fact that novel oral anticoagulants are used for antithrombotic therapy. © 2014 Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved

    Atresia of the coronary sinus in patients with supraventricular tachycardia.

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    BACKGROUND: Atresia of the coronary sinus (CS) ostium with retrograde drainage of the cardiac veins via the persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) is a rare abnormality and only a few case reports in association with electrophysiological studies have been reported. METHODS: During standard electrophysiological study in three patients with a focal left atrial tachycardia, atrial fibrillation and common type right atrial flutter, the CS could not be cannulated despite several attempts. Assuming an occluded CS ostium we advanced a multipurpose catheter via the right atrium and the right superior vena cava in a PLSVC and performed CS angiography. RESULTS: CS angiography showed that the CS was occluded in all 3 patients and the PLSVC was used as a drainage route to the superior vena cava. After retrograde placement of a 2.5 Fr nonsteerable diagnostic catheter via the PLSVC in the CS, the intracardiac CS electrogram was recorded. Successful ablation could be performed in all three cases. CONCLUSIONS: The cases highlight the possibility that failure to access the CS during electrophysiological studies may be related to this anomaly and that retrograde cannulation via PLSVC enables the CS access and acquisition of its electrograms

    Transvenous cryoablation versus radiofrequency ablation of the slow pathway for the treatment of atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia: a prospective randomized pilot study.

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    AIMS: This is a prospective, randomized study comparing transvenous cryoablation with radiofrequency (RF) ablation of atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT). METHODS AND RESULTS: In this pilot trial, 200 patients with AVNRT were randomized to undergo cryoablation or RF ablation of the slow pathway. A 7 Fr 4-mm-tip cryocatheter (Cryocath) was used for cryomapping and cryoablation. Cryomapping was performed at the temperature of -30 degrees C to test the effect on the candidate ablation site. Following successful cryomapping, cryoablation was performed to produce an irreversible lesion by freezing to -75 degrees C. Procedural success, defined as elimination of the slow pathway or noninducibility of AVNRT, was achieved in 97/100 (97%) patients in the Cryo group vs. 98/100 (98%) patients in the RF group. No permanent complete AV-block occurred in either group. During a median of 246 days of follow-up, 8 patients in the Cryo group and 1 in the RF group had AVNRT recurrence. The cumulative incidence of primary endpoint (a combination of procedural failure, permanent complete AV-block and AVNRT recurrence) was significantly higher in the Cryo group than in the RF group (P=0.03, Log-rank test). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this pilot study indicate that transvenous cryoablation using a 4-mm-tip cryocatheter is associated with a comparable acute success rate but a higher recurrence rate as compared with RF ablation in patients with AVNRT. Potential benefits of cryoablation for ablation of AVNRT need to be determined in a larger multi-centre trial
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