Feasibility of physiological pacing rate in cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Aims: Although cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) improves functional capacity in heart failure patients, a blunted heart rate (HR) response remains after treatment. So we aimed to evaluate the feasibility of the physiological pacing rate (PPR) in CRT patients.

Methods: A cohort of 30 clinical mildly symptomatic CRT patients underwent the six-minute walk test (6MWT).

Pacemaker-related infection detected by (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography.

Lead endocarditis (LE) is one of the most feared complications and remains a challenging diagnosis in cardiology due to the possibility of an obscure clinical course and symptoms, leading to a delayed diagnosis, or even no diagnosis. (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) appears to be a valuable imaging technique and has been shown to have advantages in the diagnosis of patients with fever of unknown origin. We present the case of a 52-year-old man with a 3-year history of intermittent fever, chills, anemia, and weight loss (13kg).

Quality of life and functional capacity after long-term right ventricular pacing in pediatrics and young adults with congenital atrioventricular block.

Background: Although several studies have demonstrated deleterious consequences of chronic right ventricular (RV) pacing on ventricular function and synchronicity, its effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and functional exercise capacity remain uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the effect of RV pacing on HRQoL and functional capacity of children and young adults with congenital complete atrioventricular block (CCAVB).

Methods: We included 66 consecutive subjects with RV cardiac pacemaker due to CCAVB and under clinical follow-up for more than 1 year.

Glocal clinical registries: pacemaker registry design and implementation for global and local integration--methodology and case study.

Background: The ability to apply standard and interoperable solutions for implementing and managing medical registries as well as aggregate, reproduce, and access data sets from legacy formats and platforms to advanced standard formats and operating systems are crucial for both clinical healthcare and biomedical research settings.

Purpose: Our study describes a reproducible, highly scalable, standard framework for a device registry implementation addressing both local data quality components and global linking problems.

Methods And Results: We developed a device registry framework involving the following steps: (1) Data standards definition and representation of the research workflow, (2) Development of electronic case report forms using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture), (3) Data collection according to the clinical research workflow and, (4) Data augmentation by enriching the registry database with local electronic health records, governmental database and linked open data collections, (5) Data quality control and (6) Data dissemination through the registry Web site.

Global and regional ventricular repolarization study by body surface potential mapping in patients with left bundle-branch block and heart failure undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Background: The controversial effects promoted by cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on the ventricular repolarization (VR) have motivated VR evaluation by body surface potential mapping (BSPM) in CRT patients.

Methods: Fifty-two CRT patients, mean age 58.8 ± 12.

Comparison of quantitative T-wave alternans profiles of healthy subjects and ICD patients.

Background: Current relevance of T-wave alternans is based on its association with electrical disorder and elevated cardiac risk. Quantitative reports would improve understanding on TWA augmentation mechanisms during mental stress or prior to tachyarrhythmias. However, little information is available about quantitative TWA values in clinical populations.

Incidence of shock and quality of life in young patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

Objectives: To analyze the incidence and causes of ICD therapies in children and young adults and verify their impact on the quality of life (QoL).

Methods: From March/1977 to February/2006, 29 patients (15.7+/-5.

Body surface potential mapping investigating the ventricular activation patterns in the cardiac resynchronization of patients with left bundle-branch block and heart failure.

Body surface potential mapping assessed mean cardiac electrical activation times displayed by isochronal maps in the right ventricle (RV; right ventricle mean activation time [mRV]), anterior septal area (anterior septal area mean activation time [mAS]), and left ventricle (left ventricle mean activation time [mLV]) of 28 patients (mean, 61.07 years; congestive heart failure class III-IV; ejection fraction, < or =40%; left bundle-branch block [LBBB] QRS, 180.17 milliseconds), before and after biventricular pacemaker implantation, comparing them, using reference values from a control group of healthy individuals with normal hearts (GNL), in (1) baseline native LBBB, where mRV and mAS values were similar (40.

QT interval dispersion analysis in patients undergoing left partial ventriculectomy (Batista operation).

Background: QT interval dispersion (QTd) has been valued as a marker of increased vulnerability for cardiac arrhythmias. QTd was analyzed in patients undergoing the left partial ventriculectomy (LPV) or Batista operation, a palliative surgery for patients in the line for heart transplantation, which is associated with complex arrhythmia and death from sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmia (SVT).

Methods: Pre- and postoperative R-R, QT, QTc, JT (QT - QRS), and aT (apex to end of T wave) intervals were obtained by 87-lead body surface mapping from 24 patients (18 male), mean age 46.

Transfemoral pediatric permanent pacing: long-term results.

The femoral vein has been used as an alternative conduit to implant pacemakers in children of any weight. Such method associates endocardial pacing and good cosmetics. The aim of this study was to evaluate prospectively, since 1981, the long-term follow-up of 99 children, from newborn to 13 years old (average = 4.