Peculiar Aspects of Patients with Inherited Arrhythmias during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Since December 2019 we have observed the rapid advance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The impact of the clinical course of a respiratory infection is little known in patients with hereditary arrhythmias, due to the low prevalence of these diseases. Patients who present with infectious conditions may exacerbate hidden or well-controlled primary arrhythmias, due to several factors, such as fever, electrolyte disturbances, drug interactions, adrenergic stress and, eventually, the septic patient's own myocardial damage.

Effectiveness of epicardial atrial pacing using a bipolar steroid-eluting endocardial lead with active fixation in an experimental model.

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of bipolar epicardial atrial pacing using an active fixation bipolar endocardial lead implanted on the atrial surface in an experimental model.

Methods: A total of ten Large White adult pigs underwent pacemaker implantation under general anesthesia. Atrial pacing and sensing parameters were obtained at the procedure, immediate postoperative period and on the 7th and the 30th postoperative in unipolar and bipolar configurations.