Multi-catheter cryotherapy for the treatment of resistant accessory pathways.

Objective: To investigate the utility of simultaneous multi-catheter cryotherapy for the treatment of APs that were previously resistant to standard radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation.

Background: Catheter ablation is established in the treatment of accessory pathways (AP), with high rates of permanent procedural success with a single attempt. However, there are still instances of acute procedural failure and AP recurrences with standard RF and cryotherapy methods.

Protecting Against Collateral Damage to Non-cardiac Structures During Endocardial Ablation for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation.

Injury to structures adjacent to the heart, particularly oesophageal injury, accounts for a large proportion of fatal and life-altering complications of ablation for persistent AF. Avoiding these complications dictates many aspects of the way ablation is performed. Because avoidance involves limiting energy delivery in areas of interest, fear of extracardiac injury can impede the ability of the operator to perform an effective procedure.

Economic Evaluation of Catheter Ablation Versus Medical Therapy for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation from the Perspective of the UK.

Randomised evidence supports an early rhythm control strategy as treatment for AF, and catheter ablation outperforms medical therapy in terms of effectiveness when studied as first- and second-line treatment. Despite evidence consistently showing that catheter ablation treatment is superior to medical therapy in most AF patients, only a small proportion receive ablation, in some cases after a prolonged trial of ineffective medical therapy. Health economics research in electrophysiology remains limited but is recognised as being important in influencing positive change to ensure early access to ablation services for all eligible patients.

New approaches to achieving hemostasis after venous access in cardiovascular patients.

Recent decades have seen a series of advances in percutaneous transvenous procedures for cardiac arrhythmias, including the implantation of leadless pacemakers. Many of these procedures require the insertion of large caliber sheaths in large veins, usually the femoral vein. Securing hemostasis efficiently and reliably at the access site is a key step to improving a procedure's safety profile.

Triple access transvenous lead extraction: Pull-through of a lead from subclavian to jugular access to facilitate extraction.

A 39-years old ventricular lead of a right-sided single-chamber pacemaker required extraction for infection. Angulation at the right subclavian-superior vena cava junction coupled with calcified fibrotic encapsulating tissue prevented advancement of a rotational dissecting sheath. To straighten the lead, it was pulled from the subclavian and out of the right internal jugular vein, whilst the Needle's-Eye Snare via the femoral access provided counter-traction.

Patient related outcomes of mechanical lead extraction techniques (PROMET) study: A comparison of two professions.

Background: With an increasing number of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), there has been a paralleled increase in demand for transvenous lead extraction (TLE). Cardiac surgeons (CS) and cardiologists perform TLE; however, data comparing the two groups of operators is scarce.

Objective: We compared the outcomes of TLE performed by cardiologists and CS from six European lead extraction units.

Arrhythmias in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Arrhythmias cause disability and an increased risk of premature death in the general population but far more so in patients with renal failure. The association between the cardiac and renal systems is complex and derives in part from common causality of renal and myocardial injury from conditions including hypertension and diabetes. In many cases, there is a causal relationship, with renal dysfunction promoting arrhythmias and arrhythmias exacerbating renal dysfunction.

Prevalence of bradyarrhythmias needing pacing in COVID-19.

Background: The Sars-Cov-2 infection is a multisystem illness that can affect the cardiovascular system. Tachyarrhythmias have been reported but the prevalence of bradyarrhythmia is unclear. Cases have been described of transient high-degree atrioventricular (AV) block in COVID-19 that were managed conservatively.

Esophageal cooling for protection: an innovative tool that improves the safety of atrial fibrillation ablation.

This letter to the editor concerns the article: 'Innovative tools for atrial fibrillation ablation' by Rottner et al., published in the journal on 13th of May 2020. We read the article with great interest and congratulate the authors on an impressively detailed summary of the current tools and technological advances in atrial fibrillation ablation.

Exclusively cephalic venous access for cardiac resynchronisation: A prospective multi-centre evaluation.

Background: Small series has shown that cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) can be achieved in a majority of patients using exclusively cephalic venous access. We sought to determine whether this method is suitable for widespread use.

Methods: A group of 19 operators including 11 trainees in three pacing centres attempted to use cephalic access alone for all CRT device implants over a period of 8 years.

Esophageal cooling for protection during left atrial ablation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Thermal damage to the esophagus is a risk from radiofrequency (RF) ablation of the left atrium for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). The most extreme type of thermal injury results in atrio-esophageal fistula (AEF) and a correspondingly high mortality rate. Various strategies for reducing esophageal injury have been developed, including power reduction, esophageal deviation, and esophageal cooling.

Remanufactured circular mapping catheters: safety, effectiveness and cost.

Background: The use of remanufactured single-use devices (SUDs), including cardiac electrophysiology catheters, has become established in the USA and other health care systems but without much published scientific evaluation on the relative safety or efficacy of these devices. In the United Kingdom (UK), the use of remanufactured SUDs has not been routine. We performed a structured evaluation of the safety and efficacy of a remanufactured circular mapping catheter (Stryker® remanufactured Lasso NAV 2515) during its introduction in our centre.