Usefulness of Contrast Intracardiac Echocardiography in Performing Pulmonary Vein Balloon Occlusion during Cryo-ablation for Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Cryoballoon ablation (CBA) has been proven to be very effective for pulmonary vein (PV) isolation (PVI) if complete occlusion is achieved and conventionally assessed by angiographic injection of contrast within PV lumen. The aim of our study was to assess the usefulness of saline contrast intracardiac echocardiography in guiding CBA with respect to PV angiography. METHODS: Thirty consecutive patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation were randomly assigned fluoroscopy plus color-flow Doppler (n = 15; group 1: an iodinated medium as both angiographic and echographic contrast) or contrast intracardiac echocardiography plus color-flow Doppler (n = 15; group 2: saline contrast) for guidance of CBA. RESULTS: We evaluated 338 occlusions of 107 PVs. The intracardiac echocontrastography-guided assessment of occlusion, defined as loss of echocontrastographic back-flow to the left atrium after saline injection regardless of the visualization of PV antrum, showed a high level of agreement with the angiographic diagnosis of occlusion. PVI rate was similar in both groups and effectively guided by intracardiac echocontrastography (PVI using ≤ 2 double cryofreezes: 89% of PVs in group 1 vs. 91% in group 2; p=n.s.). Group 2 patients had significantly shorter procedure (127 ± 16 vs. 152 ± 19 minutes; p<0.05) and fluoroscopy times (30 ± 12 vs. 43 ± 9 minutes, p<0.05) and used a lower iodinated contrast (88 ± 26 vs. 190 ± 47 mL, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: PV occlusion and PVI during cryoablation can be effectively predicted by intracardiac saline echocontrastography. This technique reduces procedural time, radiological exposure and iodinated contrast use.

Usefulness of intrathoracic fluids accumulation monitoring with an implantable biventricular defibrillator in reducing hospitalizations in patients with heart failure: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The reduction of hospitalizations in patients with heart failure (HF) may have clinical and economical implications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a case-control study, we compared the number of hospital admissions for congestive HF during the same follow-up period in two homogeneous groups of patients, each consisting of 27 consecutive patients treated with biventricular pacing and back-up defibrillator (B-ICD) in our institution. The first group was implanted with an InSync Sentry, (Medtronic Inc, Minneapolis, MN, US), a B-ICD device with the OptiVol feature for monitoring intrathoracic fluid accumulation and equipped with an active acoustic alarm (Group 1); the second group was implanted with an InSync III Marquis (Medtronic), a B-ICD device with similar features except for the absence of the OptiVol (Group 2). Follow-up visits were performed at 3 month interval or in case of acoustic alarm. RESULTS: The patient clinical characteristics of the two groups were similar. In Group 1, with 359 +/- 98 days follow-up, 12 of the 27 patients, experienced 18 OptiVol alarms with only one hospital admission for congestive HF occurring in a patient who ignored the acoustic alarm for 13 days. In Group 2, eight HF hospitalizations occurred in seven patients (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The OptiVol feature is a useful tool for the clinical management of HF patients as it can result in early treatment during the pre-clinic stage of HF decompensation and in a significant reduction of hospital admissions for congestive HF.

Permanent direct his bundle pacing does not induce ventricular dyssynchrony unlike conventional right ventricular apical pacing. An intrapatient acute comparison study.

BACKGROUND: Benefits of A-V synchrony during right ventricular apical pacing are neutralized by induction of ventricular dyssynchrony. Only a few data are reported about direct His bundle pacing influence on ventricular synchronism. AIM: Was to assess the capability of direct His bundle pacing to prevent pacing-induced ventricular dyssynchrony comparing DDD- (or VVI- in case of Atrial Fibrillation) right ventricular apical pacing with DDD- (or VVI-) direct His bundle pacing in the same patients cohort. METHODS: 23 of 24 patients (mean age 75.1 +/- 6.4 years) with narrow QRS (HV < 65 ms) underwent permanent direct His bundle pacing for "brady-tachy syndrome" (11) or supra-Hisian II/III-degree AV Block (permanent atrial fibrillation 7, AV Node ablation 1). A 4.1 F screw-in lead was fixed in His position, guided by endocardial pacemapping and unipolar recordings. Additional permanent (13 patients) or temporary right ventricular apical pacing leads were also positioned. Inter- and left intra-ventricular dyssynchrony, mitral regurgitation and left systolic ventricular function Tei index were assessed during either direct His bundle pacing or right ventricular apical pacing. RESULTS: Permanent direct His bundle pacing was obtained in 23 of 24 patients. Indexes of ventricular dyssynchrony were drastically reduced, mitral regurgitation decreased and left systolic ventricular function Tei index improved during direct His bundle pacing (or His bundle and septum pacing) in comparison to apical pacing (p < 0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed between direct His bundle pacing and combined His bundle and septum pacing. CONCLUSION: Direct His bundle pacing (also fused with adjacent septum capture) prevents pacing-induced ventricular dyssynchrony.

Electrocardiographic abnormalities mimicking myocardial infarction in a patient with intracranial haemorrhage: a possible pitfall for prehospital thrombolysis.

The electrocardiogram, when applied in the prehospital setting, has a significant effect on a patient with chest pain. The potential effect includes both diagnostic and therapeutic issues, including the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction and the indication for thrombolysis or invasive procedures. We report the case of a man who suffered from a syncope, with a prehospital electrocardiogram showing prominent ST-segment elevation. Out-of-hospital thrombolytic therapy was planned by the emergency department. Fortunately, thrombolysis did not start because the patient fared worse. He was taken to the emergency department and, because of mental status impairment, it was decided to perform a cranial computed tomographic scan. The diagnosis shifted to a haemorrhagic stroke. According to the guidelines, prehospital thrombolysis would have been inappropriate in this case because the patient did not have any chest discomfort. The pathophysiological mechanisms of electrocardiographic abnormalities in the setting of intracranial haemorrhage are reviewed, as well as the issue of thrombolysis administered or planned only on the basis of an electrocardiogram.

[Reduction of radiological exposure time during radiofrequency catheter ablation procedures using a novel intracardiac localization system based on the Ohm's law]. / Riduzione dei tempi di esposizione radiologica durante procedure di ablazione transcatetere con l'uso di un nuovo sistema di navigazione intracardiaca basato sulla legge di Ohm.

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional nonfluoroscopic system may be helpful to guide radiofrequency catheter ablation procedures and to reduce the radiological exposure. A new intracardiac navigation and multicatheter visualization system based on Ohm's law (LocaLisa, Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) has been recently introduced. The aim of our study was to assess the efficacy of the Loca-Lisa system in comparison to fluoroscopy-based approach in reducing the radiological exposure time required for radiofrequency catheter ablation procedures. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-seven consecutive patients underwent LocaLisa-based radiofrequency catheter ablation procedures in our cardiac electrophysiology laboratory during 19 months of LocaLisa utilization (from October 2001 to April 2003): 46 atrial flutter, 44 atrioventricular node reentrant tachycardia, 16 atrioventricular reentry tachycardia due to atrioventricular accessory pathway, 14 atrial fibrillation, 11 ectopic atrial tachycardia, and 6 atrioventricular node modulation. We retrospectively compared the radiological exposure times of this group of patients to those of the last 137 patients undergone fluoroscopy-based radiofrequency catheter ablation procedures for curing the same index arrhythmia by the same procedural protocol. RESULTS: The mean radiological exposure time was significantly shorter for the LocaLisa-based radiofrequency catheter ablation procedures (16 +/- 12 vs 34 +/- 17 min; reduction of 53%, p < 0.01) and it occurred for all the arrhythmia types. The reduction was of 64% (from 39 +/- 18 to 14 +/- 12 min, p < 0.01) for atrial flutter, 42% (from 24 +/- 10 to 14 +/- 11 min, p < 0.01) for atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia, 30% (from 40 +/- 14 to 28 +/- 14 min, p = 0.02) for atrioventricular reentry tachycardia, 57% (from 49 +/- 12 to 21 +/- 13 min, p < 0.01) for atrial fibrillation (right atrial linear lesions), 50% (from 38 +/- 12 to 19 +/- 8 min, p < 0.01) for ectopic atrial tachycardia and 42% (from 12 +/- 11 to 7 +/- 5 min, p = NS) for atrioventricular node modulation. The reduction in the radiological exposure time progressively increased as our team got used with the nonfluoroscopic navigation system. CONCLUSIONS: Overall and single arrhythmia-divided mean radiological exposure times can be significantly reduced by the LocaLisa system during radiofrequency catheter ablation procedures. The reduction of radiation increases progressively by becoming friendly to the system with a very short duration of learning curve phase.

Successful treatment of post-exertion acute myocardial infarction by primary angioplasty and stenting in a patient with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.

Antiphospholipid syndrome is a disorder characterized by arterial and venous thromboses, thrombocytopaenia and stroke. Acute myocardial infarction is rarely associated with this syndrome. The treatment of these patients is a clinical challenge. This report is about a patient with antiphospholipid syndrome presenting with an acute myocardial infarction after an exercise test. The infarct-related coronary artery was successfully revascularized by primary angioplasty and stenting without any major bleeding complications. We think that the physical exertion could have favoured acute coronary thrombosis in this particular setting.

[Type A acute aortic dissection presenting as mental status confusion: is it an atypically really uncommon presentation?]. / Dissezione aortica acuta tipo A esordita con stato confusionale: una presentazione atipica davvero infrequente?

The most common initial symptom of acute aortic dissection is chest or abdominal pain. Nevertheless, in a minority of cases, it may have an atypical presentation, making the diagnosis clinically challenging. This article reports on a case of acute type A aortic dissection presenting as mental status confusion. The diagnostic suspicion for a cerebrovascular accident may have catastrophic consequences in a clinical condition, which is associated with a high mortality during the first 48 hours after the onset of symptoms if untreated. The right diagnosis was made by combining a careful physical examination, echocardiography, and computed tomography. The available literature about neurologic manifestations, their pathophysiology and prevalence as the initial symptom of acute type A aortic dissection is reviewed.

Association of aortic valve sclerosis and coronary artery disease in patients with severe nonischemic mitral regurgitation.

BACKGROUND: The presence of aortic valve sclerosis accounts for a higher rate of ischemic events and increased cardiovascular mortality. It may reflect coronary artery disease (CAD) because of a shared pathologic background. HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to analyze whether the presence of aortic valve sclerosis might help in identifying patients with coronary atherosclerosis among those with severe nonischemic mitral regurgitation (MR), who undergo coronary angiography before surgery for screening, and not because of suspected ischemic heart disease. METHODS: In all, 84 patients (mean age 64 +/- 9 years; 71% men) with mitral valve prolapse and severe regurgitation underwent echocardiography and coronary angiography. Aortic valve sclerosis was defined as focal areas of increased echogenicity and thickening of the leaflets without restriction of leaflet motion on echocardiography. Coronary artery disease was defined by the presence/absence of atherosclerotic plaques, independent of the degree of stenosis. RESULTS: Coronary artery disease was diagnosed in 47.6% of patients with and 15.8% of those without aortic valve sclerosis (p = 0.008). On logistic regression analysis, the presence of aortic valve sclerosis predicted CAD (odds ratio 3.3, 95% confidence interval 1.03-10.5; p = 0.04) independent of age. In female patients, the risk ratio for CAD in the presence of aortic valve sclerosis was 9. CONCLUSIONS: Coronary artery atherosclerosis and aortic valve sclerosis are closely associated in patients with severe nonischemic MR.