The feasibility of fully automated pacemaker advise in treating atrial tachyarrhythmias.

BACKGROUND: Modern pacemakers continuously store significant cardiac-related events. Interpreting these data and reprogramming the pacemaker can be time-consuming and demands expert knowledge. A software-based expert system, the therapy advisor (TA), was developed, which analyzes stored data and provides reprogramming recommendations. This study addresses whether pacemaker experts consider the messages that are automatically generated appropriate in the management of atrial tachyarrhythmias/atrial fibrillation (AT/AF). METHODS: This observational, international, multicenter study follows 150 patients with suspected or documented atrial arrhythmias who received a dual-chamber pacemaker (model Vitatron T-70, Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) incorporating the TA. The TA summarizes technical and clinical data stored in the pacemaker into key messages and may suggest programming changes. Twenty-five cardiologists examined their patients per normal practice during two follow-up visits. They reported the therapy changes they deemed necessary without initially reviewing the TA messages. Next, they rated their satisfaction with and the clinical relevance of the TA messages and recorded the final therapy changes. RESULTS: The TA generated (mostly AT/AF-related) main observations in 49% and programming advice in 33% of the patients. The experts rated 95% of the TA messages as satisfactory and deemed therapy changes necessary in roughly half the patients. Pacemaker changes in AT/AF therapy or general settings were prompted primarily by the diagnostic information stored in the device. Medication changes were mostly led by the symptoms reported by the patient. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that experienced cardiologists agree with 95% of the observations and programming suggestions that the TA automatically generates.

Atrial fibrillation requiring urgent medical care. Approach and outcome in the various departments of admission. Data from the atrial Fibrillation/flutter Italian REgistry (FIRE).

BACKGROUND: The atrial Fibrillation/flutter Italian REgistry (FIRE) study was designed to obtain updated information regarding the clinical characteristics of and medical approach to patients requiring urgent medical care for atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter in a nationwide and representative series of hospitals. METHODS: 4570 consecutive patients admitted to the emergency room for AF/atrial flutter were enrolled in 207 hospitals. Of these, 2838 (61.9%) were hospitalized (median 6 days, 43% in cardiology and 57% in internal medicine departments), and constitute the population of this study. RESULTS: AF/atrial flutter represented 1.5% of all emergency room admissions and 3.3% of all hospitalizations. The mean age was 70 +/- 12 years; 89.9% had AF and 10.1% atrial flutter. In 31% of the hospitalized patients no cardiac disease was present, and in 18% no disease (either cardiac or non-cardiac) could be detected. Predictors of no attempt of cardioversion (37.5% of patients) included: onset of AF > 48 hours, heart failure, increasing age, syncope, admission to a non-cardiology department, stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Predictors of in-hospital mortality (2.2%) included: age, heart failure, diabetes, admission to a non-cardiology department, and stroke or TIA. Predictors of the absence of sinus rhythm at discharge (35.6% of patients) included: no attempt of cardioversion, heart failure, chronic anticoagulation, AF duration > 48 hours, increasing age, stroke or TIA, and admission to a non-cardiology department. Transesophageal echocardiography was performed in only 6% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: AF/atrial flutter represent a significant burden on the health care system with a higher than expected hospitalization rate from the emergency room. One out of three discharged patients is not in sinus rhythm. There is still a wide gap between evidence-based medicine and real practice in the treatment of patients with AF.

Compliance to MADIT and MUSTT criteria for implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy in the pre-SCD-Heft and MADIT II era. Data from a multicenter Italian study.

The follow-up of 1440 consecutive post-MI patients (68.9 ± 10.9 years) with an LVEF ≤ 40% was analyzed in 19 Italian hospitals to evaluate how many patients with clinical nonsustained VT and inducible sustained VT or VF underwent post-discharge risk assessment (RA). During 38 (range, 4-76) months follow-up, 611 patients (42.4%) qualified for and 294 (20.4%) effectively underwent RA combining LVEF assessment and Holter monitoring, 29 (2.0%) subsequently underwent programmed electrical stimulation and 19 (1.3%) received an ICD.

Early EPS/ICD strategy in survivors of acute myocardial infarction with severe left ventricular dysfunction on optimal beta-blocker treatment. The BEta-blocker STrategy plus ICD trial.

AIMS: This multicentre prospective randomised trial was undertaken to evaluate the usefulness of an electrophysiological study (EPS)-guided/implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) strategy in patients at high risk of sudden death (SD) early after myocardial infarction (MI). Previous studies have shown the benefits of such a strategy only in high-risk patients late after MI. METHODS AND RESULTS: We enrolled 143 survivors of acute MI (<1 month) with left ventricular ejection fraction < or = 35% and either frequent (> or =10/h) premature ventricular complexes (PVCs), or depressed heart rate variability (SDNN < 70 ms) or abnormal signal-averaged ECG, who were able to tolerate optimised beta-blocker therapy (68 +/- 40 mg/day of metoprolol). Of these, 138 were randomised, in a 2:3 ratio, to two therapeutic strategies: conventional (CONV) strategy (n = 59) or EPS-guided/ICD strategy (n = 79). The latter resulted in ICD implantation in 24 inducible patients and in CONV therapy in the remaining 55. During a mean follow-up of 540 +/- 378 days, 26 patients (19%) died: nine (6.5%) SD, nine (6.5%) non-SD, and four (3%) non-cardiac death; in four patients (3%) the cause of death was unknown. The actuarial overall mortality for the CONV and EPS-guided/ICD arms was 18% vs 14% after 1 year and 29.5% vs 20% after 2 years, respectively (P = 0.3 and 0.2). CONCLUSIONS: Despite optimal therapy, mortality remains significant in high-risk patients following MI. Although there is a trend in favour of EPS-guided/ICD, our data are insufficient to demonstrate a survival benefit of this strategy early after MI.

Combined use of morphology discrimination, sudden onset, and stability as discriminating algorithms in single chamber cardioverter defibrillators.

Morphology Discrimination (MD) is a rhythm discriminator based on QRS morphology analysis that can be combined with other discriminators like Stability, with or without Sinus Interval History (SIH) and Sudden Onset. Thirty-five patients implanted with a St. Jude Medical single chamber ICD were evaluated during exercise testing, during induced AF, and during follow-up for 14 +/- 5 months. At exercise testing (60 episodes detected) MD had a specificity (SP) of 96.7% and Sudden Onset a SP of 91.7%; during induced AF (25 episodes) both MD and Stability had a SP of 96.0%. The diagnostic performance on spontaneous arrhythmias was as follows: for ventricular tachycardia (126 episodes) a sensitivity (SE) of 94.4% for MD, 92.1% for Sudden Onset, 89.7% for Stability without SIH and 79.4% for Stability + SIH; for sinus tachycardia (44 episodes) a SP of 86.4% for MD, 97.7% for Sudden Onset, 2.3% for Stability and of 95.5% for Stability + SIH. For AF (165 cases) a SP of 67.9% for MD, 69.1% for Stability and 90.3% for Stability + SIH, 44.8% for Sudden Onset. Use of MD alone provided a SE of 94.4% and a SP of 71.4% for spontaneous arrhythmias and combined use of the discriminators in a "2 of 3" diagnostic logic implied a SP of 90.9% with maintenance of 96.0% of SE. In single chamber ICDs a wide range of SE/SP ratios may be obtained by use of multiple discriminators, but use of the algorithm in a 2 of 3 diagnostic logic may achieve a SP of 90.9% and a SE of 96.0%.