Quarterly vs. yearly clinical follow-up of remotely monitored recipients of prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators: results of the REFORM trial.

Aims: The rapidly increasing number of patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) places a large burden on follow-up providers. This study investigated the possibility of longer in-office follow-up intervals in primary prevention ICD patients under remote monitoring with automatic daily data transmissions from the implant memory.

Methods And Results: Conducted in 155 ICD recipients with MADIT II indications, the study compared the burden of scheduled and unscheduled ICD follow-up visits, quality of life (SF-36), and clinical outcomes in patients randomized to either 3- or 12-month follow-up intervals in the period between 3 and 27 months after implantation.

Catheter ablation of electrical storm in patients with structural heart disease.

Aims: Electrical storm (ES) adversely affects prognosis of patients and may become a life-threatening event. Catheter ablation (CA) has been proposed for the treatment of ES. Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of CA ablation both in acute and long-term suppression of ES.

The relationship between right ventricular pacing voltage and QRS complex duration.

Compared to the natural electrical activation of the myocardium through the His-Purkinje system, right ventricular pacing is associated with prolonged QRS complex duration, thereby impeding the synchronicity of contractions. In left ventricular pacing, a higher pacing voltage decreases the QRS complex duration. The aim of our study was to describe the relation between the right ventricular pacing voltage and the QRS complex duration.

Decrease in plasma B-type natriuretic peptide early after initiation of cardiac resynchronization therapy predicts clinical improvement at 12 months.

Background: Decrease in neurohormonal activation during pharmacotherapy for chronic heart failure (CHF) is associated with haemodynamic and clinical improvement. We tested the hypothesis that changes in neurohormonal activation after initiation of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) predict its long-term clinical effect.

Methods: The study group included 43 patients with CHF (37 males, mean age 62+/-9 years, NYHA class 3.

Optimization of right ventricular lead position in cardiac resynchronisation therapy.

Background: The benefit of biventricular pacing (BiV) may be substantially affected by optimal lead placement.

Aim: To evaluate the importance of right ventricular (RV) lead positioning on clinical outcome of BiV.

Methods And Results: A total of 99 patients with symptomatic heart failure and implantation of BiV system were included.