Real-world validation of smartphone-based photoplethysmography for rate and rhythm monitoring in atrial fibrillation.

AIMS: Photoplethysmography- (PPG) based smartphone applications facilitate heart rate and rhythm monitoring in patients with paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Despite an endorsement from the European Heart Rhythm Association, validation studies in this setting are lacking. Therefore, we evaluated the accuracy of PPG-derived heart rate and rhythm classification in subjects with an established diagnosis of AF in unsupervised real-world conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty consecutive patients were enrolled, 4 weeks before undergoing AF ablation. Patients used a handheld single-lead electrocardiography (ECG) device and a fingertip PPG smartphone application to record 3907 heart rhythm measurements twice daily during 8 weeks. The ECG was performed immediately before and after each PPG recording and was given a diagnosis by the majority of three blinded cardiologists. A consistent ECG diagnosis was exhibited along with PPG data of sufficient quality in 3407 measurements. A single measurement exhibited good quality more often with ECG (93.2%) compared to PPG (89.5%; P < 0.001). However, PPG signal quality improved to 96.6% with repeated measurements. Photoplethysmography-based detection of AF demonstrated excellent sensitivity [98.3%; confidence interval (CI): 96.7-99.9%], specificity (99.9%; CI: 99.8-100.0%), positive predictive value (99.6%; CI: 99.1-100.0%), and negative predictive value (99.6%; CI: 99.0-100.0%). Photoplethysmography underestimated the heart rate in AF with 6.6 b.p.m. (95% CI: 5.8 b.p.m. to 7.4 b.p.m.). Bland-Altman analysis revealed increased underestimation in high heart rates. The root mean square error was 11.8 b.p.m. CONCLUSION: Smartphone applications using PPG can be used to monitor patients with AF in unsupervised real-world conditions. The accuracy of AF detection algorithms in this setting is excellent, but PPG-derived heart rate may tend to underestimate higher heart rates.

The MADIT-ICD benefit score helps to select implantable cardioverter-defibrillator candidates in cardiac resynchronization therapy.

AIMS: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the MADIT-ICD benefit score can predict who benefits most from the addition of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in real-world patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and to compare this with selection according to a multidisciplinary expert centre approach. METHODS AND RESULTS: Consecutive HFrEF patients who received a CRT for a guideline indication at a tertiary care hospital (Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, Genk, Belgium) between October 2008 and September 2016, were retrospectively evaluated. The MADIT-ICD benefit groups (low, intermediate, and high) were compared with the current multidisciplinary expert centre approach. Endpoints were (i) sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) and (ii) non-arrhythmic mortality. Of the 475 included patients, 165 (34.7%) were in the lowest, 220 (46.3%) in the intermediate, and 90 (19.0%) in the highest benefit group. After a median follow-up of 34 months, VT/VF occurred in 3 (1.8%) patients in the lowest, 9 (4.1%) in the intermediate, and 13 (14.4%) in the highest benefit group (P < 0.001). Vice versa, non-arrhythmic death occurred in 32 (19.4%) in the lowest, 32 (14.6%) in the intermediate, and 3 (3.3%) in the highest benefit group (P = 0.002). The predictive power for ICD benefit was comparable between expert multidisciplinary judgement and the MADIT-ICD benefit score: Uno's C-statistic 0.69 vs. 0.69 (P = 0.936) for VT/VF and 0.62 vs. 0.60 (P = 0.790) for non-arrhythmic mortality. CONCLUSION: The MADIT-ICD benefit score can identify who benefits most from CRT-D and is comparable with multidisciplinary judgement in a CRT expert centre.

Hybrid ablation of atrial fibrillation: A unilateral left-sided thoracoscopic approach.

BACKGROUND: Hybrid ablation (HA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) combines minimally invasive thoracoscopic epicardial ablation with transvenous endocardial electrophysiologic validation and touch-up of incomplete epicardial lesions if needed. While studies have reported on a bilateral thoracoscopic HA approach, data on a unilateral left-sided approach are scarce. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a unilateral left-sided thoracoscopic approach. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively gathered cohort of all consecutive patients undergoing a unilateral left-sided HA for AF between 2015 and 2018 in the Maastricht University Medical Centre. RESULTS: One-hundred nineteen patients were analyzed (mean age 64 ± 8, 28% female, mean body mass index 28 ± 4 kg/m2 , median CHA2 DS2 -VASc Score 2 [1-3], [longstanding]-persistent AF 71%, previous catheter ablation 44%). In all patients, a unilateral left-sided HA consisting of pulmonary vein (PV) isolation, posterior left atrial (LA) wall isolation, and LA appendage exclusion was attempted. Epicardial (n = 59) and/or endocardial validation (n = 81) was performed and endocardial touch-up was performed in 33 patients. Major peri-operative complications occurred in 5% of all patients. After 12 and 24 months, the probability of being free from supraventricular tachyarrhythmia recurrence was 80% [73-87] and 67% [58-76], respectively, when allowing antiarrhythmic drugs. CONCLUSION: Unilateral left-sided hybrid AF ablation is an efficacious and safe approach to treat patients with paroxysmal and (longstanding) persistent AF. Future studies should compare a unilateral with a bilateral approach to determine whether a left-sided approach is as efficacious as a bilateral approach and allows for less complications.

A hybrid approach to complex arrhythmias.

Despite many years of research, the different aspects of the mechanism of atrial fibrillation (AF) are still incompletely understood. And although the latest guidelines recommend catheter ablation with pulmonary vein isolation as a rhythm control strategy, long-term results in persistent and long-standing persistent AF are suboptimal. Historically, a mechanistic-based patient-tailored approach for the treatment of AF was impossible because of the lack real-time mapping techniques and advanced ablation tools. Therefore, surgeons created lesion sets based upon the anatomy of both atria and the safety of the incisions made by the knife. These complex open-heart procedures had to be performed through a sternotomy on the arrested heart and where therefore not generally adopted. The use of controlled energy sources such as cryothermy and radiofrequency where the first step to make the creation of these lesions less complex. With the development and improvement of electrophysiology techniques and catheters, this invasive and solely anatomical approach could again be partially redesigned. Now less invasive, it prepared the way for collaboration between electrophysiologists working on the endocardial side of the heart and cardiac surgeons providing epicardial access. The introduction of video-assisted technology and hybrid procedures has further increased the possibilities of new successful therapies. Now more than 40 years since the beginning of this exciting maze of AF procedures and still working towards a less aggressive and more comprehensive approach we give an overview of the history of the different minimally invasive surgical solutions and of the hybrid approach.

Pulmonary vein isolation in a real-world population does not influence QTc interval.

AIMS: We aimed to examine whether routine pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) induces significant ventricular repolarization changes as suggested earlier. METHODS AND RESULTS: Five-minute electrocardiograms were recorded at hospital's admission (T-1d), 1 day after the PVI-procedure (T+1d) and at 3 months post-procedure (T+3m) from a registry of consecutive atrial fibrillation (AF) patients scheduled for routine PVI with different PVI modalities (radiofrequency, cryo-ablation, and hybrid). Only patients who were in sinus rhythm at all three recordings (n = 117) were included. QT-intervals and QT-dispersion were evaluated with custom-made software and QTc was calculated using Bazett's, Fridericia's, Framingham's, and Hodges' formulas. Both QT- and RR-intervals were significantly shorter at T+1d (399 ± 37 and 870 ± 141 ms) and T+3m (407 ± 36 and 950 ± 140 ms) compared with baseline (417 ± 36 and 1025 ± 164 ms). There was no statistically significant within-subject difference in QTc Fridericia (T-1d 416 ± 28 ms, T+1d 419 ± 33 ms, and T+3m 414 ± 25 ms) and QT-dispersion (T-1d 18 ± 12 ms, T+1d 21 ± 19 ms, and T+3m 17 ± 12 ms) between the recordings. A multiple linear regression model with age, sex, AF type, ablation technique, first/re-do ablation, and AF recurrence to predict the change in QTc at T+3m with respect to QTc at T-1d did not reach significance which indicates that the change in QTc does not differ between all subgroups (age, sex, AF type, ablation technique, first/re-do ablation, and AF recurrence). CONCLUSION: Based on our data a routine PVI does not result in a prolongation of QTc in a real-world population. These findings, therefore, suggest that there is no need to intensify post-PVI QT-interval monitoring.

Outcomes after catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia without implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in selected patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

AIMS: The roles of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and radiofrequency catheter ablation (RCA) in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) and well-tolerated monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (MVT) are debated. In this multicentre retrospective study, we aimed at reporting the outcome of selected patients with ARVC after RCA without a back-up ICD. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients with ARVC who underwent RCA of well-tolerated MVT at 10 tertiary centres across 5 countries, without an ICD before and 3 months after RCA, without syncope or electrical storm, and with left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50% were included. In total, 65 ARVC patients [mean age 44.5 ± 13.2 years, 78% males] underwent RCA of MVT between 2003 and 2016. Clinical presentation was palpitations in 51 (80%) patients. One (2%) patient had >1 clinical MVT. At the ablative procedure, clinical MVTs (mean rate 185 ± 32 b.p.m.) were inducible in 50 (81%) patients. Epicardial ablation was performed in 19 (29%) patients. Complete acute success was achieved in 47 (72%) patients. After a median follow-up of 52.4 months (range 12.3-171.4), there was no death or aborted cardiac arrest, and VT recurred in 19 (29%) patients. Survival without VT recurrence was estimated at 88%, 80%, and 68%, 12, 36, and 60 months after RCA, respectively, and was significantly associated with the approach and the procedural outcome. CONCLUSION: In patients with ARVC, well-tolerated MVT without a back-up ICD did not lead to fatal arrhythmic event after RCA despite VT recurrences in some. Our data suggest that RCA may be an alternative to ICD in selected ARVC patients.

The European TeleCheck-AF project on remote app-based management of atrial fibrillation during the COVID-19 pandemic: centre and patient experiences.

AIMS: TeleCheck-AF is a multicentre international project initiated to maintain care delivery for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) during COVID-19 through teleconsultations supported by an on-demand photoplethysmography-based heart rate and rhythm monitoring app (FibriCheck®). We describe the characteristics, inclusion rates, and experiences from participating centres according the TeleCheck-AF infrastructure as well as characteristics and experiences from recruited patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: Three surveys exploring centre characteristics (n = 25), centre experiences (n = 23), and patient experiences (n = 826) were completed. Self-reported patient characteristics were obtained from the app. Most centres were academic (64%) and specialized public cardiology/district hospitals (36%). Majority of the centres had AF outpatient clinics (64%) and only 36% had AF ablation clinics. The time required to start patient inclusion and total number of included patients in the project was comparable for centres experienced (56%) or inexperienced in mHealth use. Within 28 weeks, 1930 AF patients were recruited, mainly for remote AF control (31% of patients) and AF ablation follow-up (42%). Average inclusion rate was highest during the lockdown restrictions and reached a steady state at a lower level after easing the restrictions (188 vs. 52 weekly recruited patients). Majority (>80%) of the centres reported no problems during the implementation of the TeleCheck-AF approach. Recruited patients [median age 64 (55-71), 62% male] agreed that the FibriCheck® app was easy to use (94%). CONCLUSION: Despite different health care settings and mobile health experiences, the TeleCheck-AF approach could be set up within an extremely short time and easily used in different European centres during COVID-19.

Ablation strategies for different types of atrial fibrillation in Europe: results of the ESC-EORP EHRA Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Long-Term registry.

AIMS: The ESC EORP EHRA Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Ablation Long-Term registry was designed to assess management and outcomes of AF catheter ablation procedures in Europe. To investigate the current ablation approaches and their outcomes for patients with paroxymal AF (PAF) and non-PAF in Europe. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data from index ablations were collected in 27 European countries at 104 centres in a prospective fashion. Pre-procedural, procedural, and 1-year follow-up data were captured on a web-based electronic case record form. Data on the ablation procedure were available for 3446 patients. Of these, 2513 patients and 933 patients underwent pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) or PVI plus (PVIplus) additional ablation, respectively. The ablation strategy was limited to PVI in 81% and 56% of patients in the PAF and non-PAF group, respectively (P < 0.001). In the non-PAF group, left atrial linear ablation and ablation of complex fragmented atrial electrograms were more commonly performed. Arrhythmias recurrence after PVI was 29% and 39% in the PAF and non-PAF group, respectively (P < 0.001) and 42% after PVIplus in both groups. Atrial fibrillation related hospital admissions were more common in the PVIplus group (20% vs. 14%). A very low procedural complication rate was observed. No relevant differences were observed with regard to repeat ablation (PVI 9% and PVIplus 11%). CONCLUSION: In patients with PAF and non-PAF, the ablation strategies of PVI and PVIplus led to similar arrhythmia-free survival rates after 1 year. A considerable hospital readmission rate was noted.

Shorter RSPV cryoapplications result in less phrenic nerve injury and similar 1-year freedom from atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: In the 123-study, we prospectively assessed, in a randomized fashion, the minimal cryoballoon application time necessary to achieve pulmonary vein (PV) isolation (PVI) in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) with the aim to reduce complications by shortening the application duration. The first results of this study demonstrated that shortened cryoballoon applications (<2 minutes) resulted in less phrenic nerve injury (PNI) without compromising acute isolation efficacy for the right PVs. We now report the 1-year follow-up results regarding safety and efficacy of shorter cryoballoon applications. METHODS: A total of 222 patients with AF were randomized to two applications of 1 min "short," 2 min "medium," or 3 min "long" duration, 74 per group. Recurrence of AF and PV reconduction at 1-year follow-up were assessed. RESULTS: The overall 1-year freedom from AF was 79% and did not differ significantly between the short, medium, and long application groups (77%, 74%, and 85% for short, medium, and long application groups, respectively; P = 0.07). In 30 patients, a redo PVI procedure was performed. For all four PVs, there was no significant difference in reconduction between the three groups. Reconduction was most common in the left superior PV (57%). The right superior PV (RSPV) showed significantly less reconduction (17%) compared to the other PVs. CONCLUSIONS: Shortening cryoballoon applications of the RSPV to <2 minutes results in less PNI, while acute success and 1-year freedom from AF are not compromised. Therefore, shorter cryoballoon applications (especially) in the RSPV could be used to reduce PNI.

Left Atrial Appendage Management with the Watchman Device during Hybrid Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: In the recent ESC/EACTS guidelines, left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion or exclusion in patients undergoing (thoracoscopic) atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation surgery is recommended. The Watchman device (WD, Boston Scientific, Minnesota) has proved to reduce the risk of thromboembolic events by closing of the LAA, yet no data exist on WD implantation during surgical AF ablation. The objective is to determine if WD implantation is safe and feasible in a hybrid AF ablation setting (i.e., combination of thoracoscopic epicardial surgical and endocardial catheter ablation) and could become subject of further testing to serve as a bail-out in cases in which surgical LAA occlusion methods cannot be applied, due to, for example, severe adhesions. METHODS: In this prospective, single center, pilot study, 10 consecutive patients undergoing a hybrid ablation qualifying for LAA exclusion (CHA2DS2-VASc ≥ 1) were included. At the end of the hybrid ablation, the LAA was occluded endocardially using the WD. The feasibility endpoint was successful implantation. The safety endpoint concerned major complications. RESULTS: One patient was excluded and replaced because the LAA was insufficiently visible on transesophageal echocardiography. In 10/11 patients, device delivery was successful (mean time: 35 minutes). No major complications occurred. Transesophageal echocardiography after 6 weeks and 6 months showed successful occlusion of the LAA without significant peridevice flow. CONCLUSION: Implantation of the WD seems to be feasible and safe in the setting of hybrid AF ablation and could be an alternative to epicardial occlusion in surgical AF ablation procedures. Larger studies are required to confirm these findings. This trial is registered with NCT02471131.

Support vector machine-based assessment of the T-wave morphology improves long QT syndrome diagnosis.

AIMS: Diagnosing long QT syndrome (LQTS) is challenging due to a considerable overlap of the QTc-interval between LQTS patients and healthy controls. The aim of this study was to investigate the added value of T-wave morphology markers obtained from 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) in diagnosing LQTS in a large cohort of gene-positive LQTS patients and gene-negative family members using a support vector machine. METHODS AND RESULTS: A retrospective study was performed including 688 digital 12-lead ECGs recorded from genotype-positive LQTS patients and genotype-negative relatives at their first visit. Two models were trained and tested equally: a baseline model with age, gender, RR-interval, QT-interval, and QTc-intervals as inputs and an extended model including morphology features as well. The best performing baseline model showed an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.821, whereas the extended model showed an AUC of 0.901. Sensitivity and specificity at the maximal Youden's indexes changed from 0.694 and 0.829 with the baseline model to 0.820 and 0.861 with the extended model. Compared with clinically used QTc-interval cut-off values (>480 ms), the extended model showed a major drop in false negative classifications of LQTS patients. CONCLUSION: The support vector machine-based extended model with T-wave morphology markers resulted in a major rise in sensitivity and specificity at the maximal Youden's index. From this, it can be concluded that T-wave morphology assessment has an added value in the diagnosis of LQTS.

Arrhythmias in congenital heart disease: a position paper of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC), and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Working Group on Grown-up Congenital heart disease, endorsed by HRS, PACES, APHRS, and SOLAECE.

The population of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) is continuously increasing with more and more patients reaching adulthood. A significant portion of these young adults will suffer from arrhythmias due to the underlying congenital heart defect itself or as a sequela of interventional or surgical treatment. The medical community will encounter an increasing challenge as even most of the individuals with complex congenital heart defects nowadays become young adults. Within the past 20 years, management of patients with arrhythmias has gained remarkable progress including pharmacological treatment, catheter ablation, and device therapy. Catheter ablation in patients with CHD has paralleled the advances of this technology in pediatric and adult patients with structurally normal hearts. Growing experience and introduction of new techniques like the 3D mapping systems into clinical practice have been particularly beneficial for this growing population of patients with abnormal cardiac anatomy and physiology. Finally, device therapies allowing maintanence of chronotropic competence and AV conduction, improving haemodynamics by cardiac resynchronization, and preventing sudden death are increasingly used. For pharmacological therapy, ablation procedures, and device therapy decision making requires a deep understanding of the individual pathological anatomy and physiology as well as detailed knowledge on natural history and long-term prognosis of our patients. Composing expert opinions from cardiology and paediatric cardiology as well as from non-invasive and invasive electrophysiology this position paper was designed to state the art in management of young individuals with congenital heart defects and arrhythmias.

Integrating new approaches to atrial fibrillation management: the 6th AFNET/EHRA Consensus Conference.

There are major challenges ahead for clinicians treating patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The population with AF is expected to expand considerably and yet, apart from anticoagulation, therapies used in AF have not been shown to consistently impact on mortality or reduce adverse cardiovascular events. New approaches to AF management, including the use of novel technologies and structured, integrated care, have the potential to enhance clinical phenotyping or result in better treatment selection and stratified therapy. Here, we report the outcomes of the 6th Consensus Conference of the Atrial Fibrillation Network (AFNET) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), held at the European Society of Cardiology Heart House in Sophia Antipolis, France, 17-19 January 2017. Sixty-two global specialists in AF and 13 industry partners met to develop innovative solutions based on new approaches to screening and diagnosis, enhancing integration of AF care, developing clinical pathways for treating complex patients, improving stroke prevention strategies, and better patient selection for heart rate and rhythm control. Ultimately, these approaches can lead to better outcomes for patients with AF.

Perioperative management of antithrombotic treatment during implantation or revision of cardiac implantable electronic devices: the European Snapshot Survey on Procedural Routines for Electronic Device Implantation (ESS-PREDI).

The European Snapshot Survey on Procedural Routines for Electronic Device Implantation (ESS-PREDI) was a prospective European survey of consecutive adults who had undergone implantation/surgical revision of a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) on chronic antithrombotic therapy (enrolment March-June 2015). The aim of the survey was to investigate perioperative treatment with oral anticoagulants and antiplatelets in CIED implantation or surgical revision and to determine the incidence of complications, including clinically significant pocket haematomas. Information on antithrombotic therapy before and after surgery and bleeding and thromboembolic complications occurring after the intervention was collected at first follow-up. The study population comprised 723 patients (66.7% men, 76.9% aged ≥66 years). Antithrombotic treatment was continued during surgery in 489 (67.6%) patients; 6 (0.8%) had their treatment definitively stopped; 46 (6.4%) were switched to another antithrombotic therapy. Heparin bridging was used in 55 out of 154 (35.8%) patients when interrupting vitamin K antagonist (VKA) treatment. Non-vitamin K oral anticoagulant (NOAC) treatment was interrupted in 88.7% of patients, with heparin bridging in 25.6%, but accounted for only 25.3% of the oral anticoagulants used. A total of 108 complications were observed in 98 patients. No intracranial haemorrhage or embolic events were observed. Chronic NOAC treatment before surgery was associated with lower rates of minor pocket haematoma (1.4%; P= 0.042) vs. dual antiplatelet therapy (13.0%), VKA (11.4%), VKA + antiplatelet (9.2%), or NOAC + antiplatelet (7.7%). Similar results were observed for bleeding complications (P= 0.028). Perioperative management of patients undergoing CIED implantation/surgical revision while on chronic antithrombotic therapy varies, with evidence of a disparity between guideline recommendations and practice patterns in Europe. Haemorrhagic complications were significantly less frequent in patients treated with NOACs. Despite this, the incidence of severe pocket haematomas was low.

Surgical Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common chronic arrhythmia in the adult population. Ablation lines have largely replaced the historical and challenging cut and sew techniques. Surgical ablation of AF is commonly performed in cases with other indications for cardiac surgery and less commonly as a stand-alone therapy. Pulmonary vein isolation is the cornerstone of this procedure. Extended left atrial ablation lines may increase efficacy in cases with longstanding persistent or permanent AF. Additional efficacy by adding right atrial ablation is controversial but is often performed in cases undergoing right atrial or atrial septal surgery. Left atrial volume reduction is recommended in cases with large left atria and AF undergoing another cardiac surgery. Arrhythmia recurrence is not uncommon after surgical ablation of AF and varies among studies due to heterogeneity in patient population, lesion set and endpoints. Freedom from AF recurrence was 65-87% at 12 months and 58-70% at 2 years follow-up. Long-term monitoring is recommended due to an increased prevalence of asymptomatic recurrences. The strongest predictors of AF recurrence are longstanding or persistent AF and a large left atrium. The most common mechanisms of recurrence are pulmonary vein reconnection, nonpulmonary vein triggers, and gaps in the ablation lines. About 20% of atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrences are atrial flutter or atrial tachycardia. There are not enough data in the surgical literature to support withdrawal of anticoagulation after surgical AF ablation. Patients selected for stand-alone surgical ablation usually have low risk profiles and low postoperative mortality rates (0.2%).

Current ablation techniques for persistent atrial fibrillation: results of the European Heart Rhythm Association Survey.

The aim of this survey was to provide insight into current practice regarding ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) among members of the European Heart Rhythm Association electrophysiology research network. Thirty centres responded to the survey. The main ablation technique for first-time ablation was stand-alone pulmonary vein isolation (PVI): in 67% of the centres for persistent but not long-standing AF and in 37% of the centres for long-standing persistent AF as well. Other applied techniques were ablation of fractionated electrograms, placement of linear lesions, stepwise approach until AF termination, and substrate mapping and isolation of low-voltage areas. However, the percentage of centres applying these techniques during first ablation did not exceed 25% for any technique. When stand-alone PVI was performed in patients with persistent but not long-standing AF, the majority (80%) of the centres used an irrigated radiofrequency ablation catheter whereas 20% of the respondents used the cryoballoon. Similar results were reported for ablation of long-standing persistent AF (radiofrequency 90%, cryoballoon 10%). Neither rotor mapping nor one-shot ablation tools were used as the main first-time ablation methods. Systematic search for non-pulmonary vein triggers was performed only in 10% of the centres. Most common 1-year success rate off antiarrhythmic drugs was 50-60%. Only 27% of the centres knew their 5-year results. In conclusion, patients with persistent AF represent a significant proportion of AF patients undergoing ablation. There is a shift towards stand-alone PVI being the primary choice in many centres for first-time ablation in these patients. The wide variation in the use of additional techniques and in the choice of endpoints reflects the uncertainties and lack of guidance regarding the most optimal approach. Procedural success rates are modest and long-term outcomes are unknown in most centres.

Left ventricular lead placement in the latest activated region guided by coronary venous electroanatomic mapping.

AIM: Left ventricular (LV) lead placement in the latest activated region is an important determinant of response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). We investigated the feasibility of coronary venous electroanatomic mapping (EAM) to guide LV lead placement to the latest activated region. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty-five consecutive CRT candidates with left bundle-branch block underwent intra-procedural coronary venous EAM using EnSite NavX. A guidewire was used to map the coronary veins during intrinsic activation, and to test for phrenic nerve stimulation (PNS). The latest activated region, defined as the region with an electrical delay >75% of total QRS duration, was located anterolaterally in 18 (basal, n = 10; mid, n = 8) and inferolaterally in 6 (basal, n = 3; mid, n = 3). In one patient, identification of the latest activated region was impeded by limited coronary venous anatomy. In patients with >1 target vein (n = 12), the anatomically targeted inferolateral vein was rarely the vein with maximal electrical delay (n = 3). A concordant LV lead position was achieved in 18 of 25 patients. In six patients, this was hampered by PNS (n = 4), lead instability (n = 1), and coronary vein stenosis (n = 1). CONCLUSION: Coronary venous EAM can be used intraprocedurally to guide LV lead placement to the latest activated region free of PNS. This approach especially contributes to optimization of LV lead electrical delay in patients with multiple target veins. Conventional anatomical LV lead placement strategy does not target the vein with maximal electrical delay in many of these patients.

How are patients with atrial fibrillation approached and informed about their risk profile and available therapies in Europe? Results of the European Heart Rhythm Association Survey.

This European Heart Rhythm (EHRA) Scientific Initiatives Committee EP Wire Survey aimed at exploring the common practices in approaching patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and informing them about their risk profiles and available therapies in Europe. In the majority of 53 responding centres, patients were seen by cardiologists (86.8%) or arrhythmologists (64.2%). First- and follow-up visits most commonly lasted 21-30 and 11-20 min (41.5 and 69.8% of centres, respectively). In most centres (80.2%) stroke and bleeding risk had the highest priority for discussion with AF patients; 50.9% of centres had a structured patient education programme for stroke prevention. Individual patient stroke risk was assessed at every visit in 69.2% of the centres; 46.1% of centres had a hospital-based anticoagulation clinic. Information about non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) was communicated to all AF patients eligible for oral anticoagulation (38.5% of centres) or to warfarin-naive/unstable patients (42.3%). Only two centres (3.8%) had a structured NOAC adherence follow-up programme; in eight centres (15.4%) patients were requested to sign the statement they have been informed about the risks of non-adherence to NOAC therapy, and three centres (5.8%) had a patient education programme. Patient preferences were of the highest relevance regarding oral anticoagulation and AF ablation (64.7 and 49.0% of centres, respectively). This EP Wire Survey shows that in Europe considerable amount of time and resources are used in daily clinical practice to inform AF patients about their risk profile and available therapies. However, a diversity of strategies used across the European hospitals was noted, and further research is needed to better define optimal strategies for informing AF patients about their risk profile and treatment options.