Heart Rhythm : the Official Journal of the Heart Rhythm Society

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: The benefit of catheter ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare catheter ablation and medical therapy (antiarrhythmics for rhythm or rate control) in patients with AF and HFpEF. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Central. Outcomes were the composite endpoints of death or heart failure (HF) hospitalization, all-cause-death, cardiovascular death, all-cause-rehospitalization and HF hospitalization...

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BACKGROUND: Idiopathic atypical (non-cavotricupid isthmus [CTI]-dependent) atrial flutter (IAAFL) may be seen in patients without structural heart disease and without previous cardiac surgery or ablation. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to determine the patient characteristics, electrophysiological and electroanatomic properties, and clinical outcomes after ablation in patients with IAAFL. METHODS: We retrospectively compared IAAFL patients to CTI-dependent AFL (C-AFL) patients undergoing catheter ablation...

INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) frequently coexist. Prediction of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) recovery after catheter ablation (CA) for AF remains difficult. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the value of biomarkers, alone and in conjunction with the Antwerp score to predict LVEF recovery after CA for AF. METHODS: Patients undergoing CA for AF with depressed LVEF(<50%) were included. Plasma levels of 13 biomarkers were measured immediately prior to CA...

BACKGROUND: Pulsed-field ablation (PFA) has shown promising data in terms of safety and procedural efficiency for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), with similar long-term outcomes compared to radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cryoballoon ablation (CBA) in patient with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) OBJECTIVE: To compare the procedural and long-term outcomes of patients with persistent AF undergoing PVI using PFA, CBA, or RFA. METHODS: Consecutive patients with persistent AF undergoing a first PVI with PFA, CBA, or RFA were included...

BACKGROUND: Exercise intolerance is a common symptom associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, echocardiographic markers that can predict impaired exercise capacity are lacking. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between echocardiographic parameters and exercise capacity assessed via cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in patients with AF. METHODS: This single-center prospective study enrolled patients with AF who underwent echocardiography and CPET to evaluate exercise capacity at a tertiary center for AF management from 2020 to 2022...

BACKGROUND: A rare gene variant in SCN5A can be found in approximately 20-25% of patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS). OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate: (1) differences in clinical characteristics of BrS patients with and without SCN5A rare variants and (2) the prognostic role of SCN5A for ventricular arrhythmias in BrS. METHODS: PubMed and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were systematically searched from inception to January 2024 to identify all relevant studies...

BACKGROUND: Rhythm control is a cornerstone of atrial fibrillation (AF) management. Shorter time between diagnosis of AF and receipt of catheter ablation is associated with greater rates of therapy success. Prior work considered diagnosis-to-ablation time as a binary or categorical variable and did not consider the unique risk profile of patients once a referral for ablation is made. OBJECTIVES: Comprehensively assess the impact of diagnosis-to-ablation and referral-to-ablation time on post-procedural outcomes at a population level...

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BACKGROUND: Complications of venous vascular access are usually non-fatal but are the most common complications after transvenous catheter intervention. Vascular closure devices (VCD) have recently become available for venous closure. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of real-time ultrasound-guided venous closure using suture-mediated VCD in patients who underwent catheter ablation. METHODS: This single-center observational study enrolled 226 consecutive patients who underwent elective catheter ablation with femoral venipuncture...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Different types of recurrent atrial tachycardias (ATs) following Cox-Maze procedures have been reported, while biatrial tachycardia (BiAT) have not been systematically analyzed. OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we retrospectively investigated the electrophysiological characteristics of BiATs after Cox-Maze procedures by using an ultrahigh-density mapping system. METHODS: Among a consecutive 76 patients who underwent catheter ablation of AT after Cox-Maze procedures, 12 BiATs were identified...

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with the development of dementia and observational studies have shown that oral anticoagulation (OAC) and catheter ablation reduce dementia risk. However, such studies did not consistently report on periprocedural anticoagulation and long term OAC coverage, for which reason the separate effect of AF ablation on dementia risk could not be established. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the protective effect of AF ablation in large cohort who received optimized anticoagulation and compared them with patients who were managed medically...

BACKGROUND: Various treatment approaches for atrial fibrillation (AF) have demonstrated improved health status, yet the significance of these therapeutic interventions in individual patients remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate health status changes in patients with early AF, focusing on those who experience clinically significant deterioration following treatment initiation. METHODS: We analyzed data from a multicenter, prospective registry of newly diagnosed patients with AF...