Lessons learned in attempting catheter-based interatrial electrical disconnection for nonpharmacologic rate control of atrial fibrillation or flutter.

Purpose: Ablation of atrioventricular (AV) conduction and pacemaker implantation is the therapy of last resort for symptomatic atrial tachyarrythmias when rhythm and rate control fail, but is far from ideal. To evaluate whether interatrial electrical disconnection as a result of catheter ablation is feasible and of potential clinical utility as a means of non-pharmacological heart rate control.

Methods: Eleven patients with medically refractory atrial fibrillation or left atrial flutter and symptomatic rapid ventricular response were included.

Is the ORBIT Bleeding Risk Score Superior to the HAS-BLED Score in Anticoagulated Atrial Fibrillation Patients?

Background: Several bleeding risk scores have been validated in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The ORBIT score has been recently proposed as a simple score with the best ability to predict major bleeding. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that the ORBIT score was superior to the HAS-BLED score for predicting major bleeding and death in "real world" anticoagulated AF patients.

The HAS-BLED score predicts long-term major bleeding and death in anticoagulated non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients undergoing electrical cardioversion.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) patients eligible for cardioversion tend to be younger and are at lower risk than 'general' AF clinic populations. We evaluated the incidence of major bleeding and death, as well as the predictive value of the HAS-BLED score in non-valvular AF patients who underwent electrical cardioversion (ECV).

Methods: Consecutive non-valvular AF patients who underwent ECV were recruited.

Evaluation of a 'color coding' system for the assessment of patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Aims: The reduction of delay times as well as the rate of false alarms (FA) have become some of the main points of the different infarction networks. We propose a simple way of classifying patients derived for primary PCI (pPCI) into well-defined simple groups by colors, where we can assess real delays of each clinical presentation, define the FA and, furthermore, establish their immediate and short term prognosis.

Methods And Results: Prospective study of STEMI consecutive patients derived for pPCI during 2014.