Leadless Pacemakers: Current Achievements and Future Perspectives.

Despite the technological advances in pacemaker technology, the transvenous implanted leads are still considered the Achilles' heel of this rhythm-control therapy. The leadless permanent pacemaker system was developed as an option to bypass the weakness of the transvenous approach. Advances in battery technology and deep miniaturisation of electronics now offer the opportunity to implant the whole pacemaker system into the right ventricle.

Electro-Mechanical Alterations in Atrial Fibrillation: Structural, Electrical, and Functional Correlates.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice affecting both patients' survival and well-being. Apart from aging, many cardiovascular risk factors may cause structural remodeling of the atrial myocardium leading to atrial fibrillation development. Structural remodelling refers to the development of atrial fibrosis, as well as to alterations in atrial size and cellular ultrastructure.

Transvenous extraction of cardiac rhythm device leads: a report of the experience from a single referral centre in Greece.

Introduction: As rates of implanted cardiac electronic devices continue to rise, lead extraction procedures are crucial for the management of complications. The optimal method for such procedures has been constantly debated. We sought to review our experience of lead extraction using a conventional technique.

Primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in a nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy population: reappraisal of the role of programmed ventricular stimulation.

Background: We considered the role of programmed ventricular stimulation in primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in an idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy population.

Methods And Results: One hundred fifty-eight patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy underwent programmed ventricular stimulation. Ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation was triggered in 44 patients (group I, 27.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy: the challenge of genetic interpretation in clinically suspected cases.

This is the case of a 43-year-old Caucasian man with frequent episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) and normal resting electrocardiogram (ECG), who fulfilled two minor diagnostic criteria for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC): late potentials by signal-averaged ECG and regional right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) dyskinesia with mildly dilated RVOT end-diastolic diameter. Genetic test results revealed a disease-associated missense mutation in DSC2 (p.E102K), adding a major diagnostic criterion according to recently published modified Task Force Criteria.

Continuity equation is the echocardiographic method of choice to assess degenerative mitral stenosis.

We present a rare case of a patient with severe, symptomatic degenerative calcific mitral stenosis (MS). Calcification of mitral valve annulus (MVA) is a frequent finding in elderly patients. It can be isolated or associated more often with mitral valve insufficiency than MS.

Specific electrocardiographic features associated with Cushing's disease.

Objective: Hypercortisolaemia is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), either through a direct action on the myocardium or by increased traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the alterations in the ECG in Cushing's disease (CD) are predictable from risk factor analysis alone.

Design: In 79 patients with a diagnosis of CD, retrospectively recruited, ECG features [corrected for heart rate QT (QTc), QTc dispersion (QTcd), left ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH), right ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-RVH)], systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure were assessed.

Mechanistic insights into arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy caused by desmocollin-2 mutations.

Aims: Recent immunohistochemical studies observed the loss of plakoglobin (PG) from the intercalated disc (ID) as a hallmark of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), suggesting a final common pathway for this disease. However, the underlying molecular processes are poorly understood.

Methods And Results: We have identified novel mutations in the desmosomal cadherin desmocollin 2 (DSC2 R203C, L229X, T275M, and G371fsX378).