Atrial fibrillation symptom reduction and improved quality of life following the hybrid convergent procedure: a CONVERGE trial subanalysis.

Background: CONVERGE was a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial that evaluated the safety of Hybrid Atrial Fibrillation Convergent (HC) and compared its effectiveness to endocardial catheter ablation (CA) for the treatment of persistent atrial fibrillation (PersAF) and longstanding PersAF (LSPAF). In 2020, we reported that CONVERGE met its primary safety and effectiveness endpoints. The primary objective of the present study is to report CONVERGE trial results for quality of life (QOL) and Class I/III anti-arrhythmic drug (AAD) utilization following HC. Methods: Eligible patients had drug-refractory symptomatic PersAF or LSPAF and a left atrium diameter ≤6.0 cm. Enrolled patients were randomized 2:1 to receive HC or CA. Atrial Fibrillation Severity Scale (AFSS) and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) were assessed at baseline and 12 months; statistical comparison was performed using paired t-tests. AAD utilization at baseline through 12 and 18 months post-procedure was evaluated; statistical comparison was performed using McNemar's tests. Results: A total of 153 patients were treated with either HC (n=102) or CA (n=51). Of the 102 HC patients, 38 had LSPAF. AFSS and SF-36 Mental and Physical Component scores were significantly improved at 12 months versus baseline with HC overall and for the subset of LSPAF patients treated with either HC or CA. The proportion of HC patients (n=102) who used Class I /III AADs at 12 and 18 months was significantly less (33.3% and 36.3%, respectively) than baseline (84.3%; P<0.001). In LSPAF patients who underwent HC (n=38), AADs use was 29.0% through 18 months follow-up versus 71.1% at baseline (P<0.001). Conclusions: HC reduced AF symptoms, significantly improved QOL, and reduced AAD use in patients with PersAF and LSPAF. ClinicalTrialsgov Identifier: NCT01984346.

Hybrid epicardial-endocardial ablation for long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation: A subanalysis of the CONVERGE Trial.

Background: Favorable clinical outcomes are difficult to achieve in long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (LSPAF) with catheter ablation (CA). The CONVERGE (Convergence of Epicardial and Endocardial Ablation for the Treatment of Symptomatic Persistent Atrial FIbrillation) trial evaluated the effectiveness of hybrid convergent (HC) ablation vs endocardial CA. Objective: The study sought to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of HC vs CA in the LSPAF subgroup from the CONVERGE trial. Methods: The CONVERGE trial was a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial that enrolled 153 patients at 27 sites. A post hoc analysis was performed on LSPAF patients. The primary effectiveness was freedom from atrial arrhythmias off new or increased dose of previously failed or intolerant antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) through 12 months. The primary safety endpoint was major adverse event incidence through 30 days with HC. Key secondary effectiveness measures included (1) percent of patients achieving ≥90% AF burden reduction vs baseline and (2) AF freedom. Results: Sixty-five patients (42.5% of total enrollment) had LSPAF; 38 in HC and 27 in CA. Primary effectiveness was 65.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 50.7%-80.9%) with HC vs 37.0% (95% CI 5.1%-52.4%) with CA (P = .022). Through 18 months, these rates were 60.5% (95% CI 50.0%-76.1%) with HC vs 25.9% (95% CI 9.4%-42.5%) with CA (P = .006). Secondary effectiveness rates were higher than CA with HC at 12 and 18 months. Freedom from atrial arrhythmias off AADs was 52.6% (95% CI 36.8%-68.5%) and 47.4% (95% CI 31.5%-63.2%) with HC at 12 and 18 months vs 25.9% (95% CI 9.4%-42.5%) and 22.2% (95% CI 6.5%-37.9%) with CA, respectively (12 months: P = .031; 18 months: P = .038). Three (7.9%) major adverse events occurred within 30 days of HC. Conclusion: Post hoc analysis demonstrated effectiveness and acceptable safety of HC compared with CA in LSPAF.

Venous Stent Migrating to the Right Heart Causing Severe Regurgitation.

Venous stent migration to the cardiopulmonary system is a rare but serious complication. Cardiopulmonary involvement has various presentations such as valvulopathy, acute heart failure, arrhythmias, endocarditis, and tamponade. The presenting symptoms depend on the eventual location of the stent in the heart or lungs, size of the stent, and valve involvement. Extracardiac dislodgement can be managed by catheter-directed extraction or proper deployment within the containing vessel or surgical extraction. Intracardiac stents may require open surgery to prevent life-threatening complications. We present an asymptomatic patient with stent migration that lead to severe tricuspid regurgitation and required tricuspid valve replacement.

Towards a Mechanistic Understanding and Treatment of a Progressive Disease: Atrial Fibrillation.

Atrial fibrosis appears to be a key factor in the genesis and/or perpetuation of atrial fibrillation (AF). The pathological distribution of atrial fibrosis is geographically consistent with the attachments between the posterior left atrium and the pericardium along the reflections where wall stiffness is increased and structural changes are found. While there is a wide range of complex etiological factors and electrophysiological mechanisms in AF, there is evidence for a common pathophysiological pathway that could account for deliberate substrate formation and progression of AF. Anatomical stresses along the atrium, mediated by the elastic modulus mismatch between atrial tissue and the pericardium, result in inflammatory and fibrotic changes which create the substrate for atrial fibrillation. This may explain the anatomical predominance of pulmonary vein triggers earlier in the development of atrial fibrillation and the increasing involvement of the atrium as the disease progresses. Ablative treatments that address the progressive nature of atrial fibrillation and fibrosis may yield improved success rates.

Radiation induced cardiac valve disease in a man from Chernobyl.

A young man presented with a new heart murmur. History revealed that the patient was from Ukraine, which was affected by the Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion in 1986. Physical examination revealed murmurs of mitral regurgitation and aortic stenosis. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed severely calcified mitral and calcified tricuspid aortic valves with mitral and aortic regurgitation and aortic stenosis. Following valve replacement surgery, pathologic examination of the valves showed severe dystrophic calcifications and changes suggestive of a chronic inflammatory process such as radiation-induced valve disease. In the absence of another etiology explaining such severe valve disease in a young man, it can only be surmised that heavy radiation exposure from the nuclear plant caused this significant valve damage.

New functions of the MHC class I-related Fc receptor, FcRn.

FcRn was originally identified as the receptor responsible for IgG binding to the intestinal epithelium of neonatal rats and mice. FcRn transports IgG from milk across the intestinal epithelial cells of the suckling animal. Subsequently, FcRn was detected in tissues involved in the transmission of IgG from mother to fetus: rat fetal yolk sac, mouse fetal yolk sac and human placental syncytiotrophoblast. In addition, FcRn mRNA has been detected in many tissues of adult rats, mice and humans, and FcRn is present in several adult tissues and in cell lines. The selective protection from catabolism of IgG compared with other immunoglobulins is lost in mice that lack functional FcRn. One function of FcRn in tissues that do not transport IgG, and beyond the perinatal period, is thus to rescue circulating IgG from degradation. These recent observations reveal a more widespread use of FcRn than had been supposed.