Prognostic value of ventricular arrhythmia in early post-infarction left ventricular dysfunction: the French nationwide WICD-MI study.

Background And Aims: Prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are not recommended until left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has been reassessed 40 to 90 days after an acute myocardial infarction. In the current therapeutic era, the prognosis of sustained ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) occurring during this early post-infarction phase (i.e.

How to improve medical students' ECG interpretation skills ? Multicenter survey and results of a comparative study evaluating a new educational approach.

Background: Learning to interpret electrocardiograms (ECGs) is a crucial objective in medical education. Despite its importance, errors in ECGs interpretation are common, and the optimal teaching methods have not yet been clearly established.

Objectives: To evaluate students' confidence in ECGs analysis and their opinion on current teaching methods, and to assess the effectiveness of a new ECG educational approach.

Distinct Substrates of Idiopathic Ventricular Fibrillation Revealed by Arrhythmia Characteristics on Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator.

Background: Idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF) can be associated with undetected distinct conditions such as microstructural cardiomyopathic alterations (MiCM) or Purkinje (Purk) activities with structurally normal hearts.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the characteristics of recurrent VF recorded on implantable defibrillator electrograms, associated with these substrates.

Methods: This was a multicenter collaboration study.

Superior vena cava isolation using a pentaspline pulsed-field ablation catheter: feasibility and safety in patients undergoing atrial fibrillation catheter ablation.

Aims: Superior vena cava (SVC) isolation during atrial fibrillation catheter ablation is limited by the risk of collateral damage to the sinus node and/or the phrenic nerve. Due to its tissue-specificity, we hypothesized the feasibility and safety of pulsed-field ablation (PFA)-based SVC isolation.

Methods And Results: One hundred and five consecutive patients undergoing PFA-based AF catheter ablation were prospectively included.

Inter-season training effects on cardiovascular health in American-style football players.

Background: Recent studies on American-style football (ASF) athletes raised questions about the impact of training on the cardiovascular phenotype, particularly among linemen players who engage mostly in static exercise during competition and who exhibit concentric cardiac remodeling, often considered maladaptive. We aimed to examine the cardiovascular adaptation to the inter-season mixed-team training program among ASF players.

Methods: A prospective, longitudinal, cohort study was conducted among competitive male ASF players from the University of Montreal before and after an inter-season training, which lasted 7 months.

Usefulness of sleep apnea monitoring by pacemaker sensor in elderly patients with diastolic dysfunction.

Background: Automated detection of sleep apnea (SA) by pacemaker (PM) has been proposed and exhibited good agreement with polysomnography to detect severe SA. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of SA monitoring algorithm in elderly patients with diastolic dysfunction.

Methods: Consecutive patients referred to the Caen University Hospital for PM implantation between May 2016 and December 2018 presenting isolated diastolic dysfunction were eligible for the study.

Conduction system pacing in France in 2022: A snapshot survey from the Working Group of Pacing and Electrophysiology of the French Society of Cardiology.

Background: Conduction system pacing (CSP) is an emerging and promising approach for physiological ventricular pacing. While data from randomized controlled trials are scarce, use of His-bundle pacing (HBP) and left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) has increased in France.

Aim: To perform a national snapshot survey for cardiac electrophysiologists to evaluate adoption of CSP in France.

Insertable cardiac monitor with a long sensing vector: Impact of obesity on sensing quality and safety.

Background: Fat layers in obese patients can impair R-wave detection and diagnostic performance of a subcutaneous insertable cardiac monitor (ICM). We compared safety and ICM sensing quality between obese patients [body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m] and normal-weight controls (BMI <30 kg/m) in terms of R-wave amplitude and time in noise mode (noise burden) detected by a long-sensing-vector ICM.

Materials And Methods: Patients from two multicentre, non-randomized clinical registries are included in the present analysis on January 31, 2022 (data freeze), if the follow-up period was at least 90 days after ICM insertion, including daily remote monitoring.

Atrial fibrillation, cancer and anticancer drugs.

Active cancer is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), which varies depending on the pre-existing substrate (particularly in older patients), the cancer type and stage, and the anticancer therapeutics being taken. To date, studies have not been able to identify the individual contribution of each factor. During anticancer drug therapy, AF may occur with a frequency of ≈ 15-20% according to several factors, including the patient's baseline cardiovascular toxicity risk and the AF-detection strategies used.

Recurrent acute myocarditis: An under-recognized clinical entity associated with the later diagnosis of a genetic arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Myocardial inflammation has been consistently associated with genetic arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) and it has been hypothesized that episodes mimicking acute myocarditis (AM) could represent early inflammatory phases of the disease.

Objective: We evaluated the temporal association between recurrent acute myocarditis (RAM) episodes and the later diagnosis of a genetic ACM.

Materials And Methods: Between January 2012 and December 2021, patients with RAM and no previous cardiomyopathy were included (Recurrent Acute Myocarditis Registry, NCT04589156).

A telemonitoring programme in patients with heart failure in France: a cost-utility analysis.

Background: Certain telemedicine programmes for heart failure (HF) have been shown to reduce all-cause mortality and heart failure-related hospitalisations, but their cost-effectiveness remains controversial. The SCAD programme is a home-based interactive telemonitoring service for HF, which is one of the largest and longest-running telemonitoring programmes for HF in France. The objective of this cost-utility analysis was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the SCAD programme with respect to standard hospital-based care in patients with HF.

Age impacts left atrial functional remodeling in athletes.

Aim: Age-associated changes in cardiac filling and function are well known in the general population. Yet, the effect of aging on left atrial (LA) function, and its interaction with left ventricular (LV) adaptation, remain less described when combined with high-intensity chronic training. We aimed to analyze the effects of aging on LA and LV functions in trained athletes.

Impact of patient engagement in a French telemonitoring programme for heart failure on hospitalization and mortality.

Aims: Management of patients with recently decompensated heart failure by hospital services is expensive, complicated to plan, and not always effective. Telemedicine programmes in heart failure may improve the quality of care, but their effectiveness is poorly documented in real-world settings. The study aims to evaluate the impact of patient engagement in home-based telemonitoring for heart failure (SCAD programme) on rehospitalization and mortality rates.