Erratum: Ossig, C., et al. Four-Fold Multi-Modal X-ray Microscopy Measurements of a Cu(In, Ga)Se Solar Cell. 2021, , 228.

In the original version of our article [...

Atrial Fibrillation Burden and Clinical Outcomes in Heart Failure: The CASTLE-AF Trial.

Objectives: This subanalysis of the CASTLE-AF (Catheter Ablation vs. Standard Conventional Treatment in Patients With LV Dysfunction and AF) trial aimed to address the association between atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence, AF burden, and hard clinical outcomes in heart failure (HF) patients with AF.

Background: The CASTLE-AF trial demonstrated the benefit of CA compared to pharmacological treatment in decreasing mortality and CV hospitalizations in patients with AF and HFrEF.

Four-Fold Multi-Modal X-ray Microscopy Measurements of a Cu(In,Ga)Se Solar Cell.

Inhomogeneities and defects often limit the overall performance of thin-film solar cells. Therefore, sophisticated microscopy approaches are sought to characterize performance and defects at the nanoscale. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, the simultaneous assessment of composition, structure, and performance in four-fold multi-modality.

Impact of Left Ventricular Function and Heart Failure Symptoms on Outcomes Post Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation in Heart Failure: CASTLE-AF Trial.

Background: Recent data demonstrate promising effects on left ventricular dysfunction and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) improvement following ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with heart failure. We sought to study the relationship between LVEF, New York Heart Association class on presentation, and the end points of mortality and heart failure admissions in the CASTLE-AF study (Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation With Heart Failure) population. Furthermore, predictors for LVEF improvement were examined.

[HIS bundle pacing : Far more than an ECG cosmetic effect].

The therapy for heart failure in patients with uncompromised systolic ventricular function (HfpEF) is still challenging because there is an obvious lack of effective therapy options. Several of these particular patients are additionally presenting atrioventricular (AV) block. In these patients HIS bundle pacing could be a hopeful therapy strategy due to the option of an AV resynchronisation as illustrated in the following case.

Therapy of ventricular arrhythmias in patients suffering from isolated left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Non-compaction cardiomyopathy (NCCM) is associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity. Knowledge regarding risk stratification, arrhythmogenesis, therapy, and prognosis is limited. The aim of this study was to analyse the outcome of patients suffering from NCCM and ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) focusing on a treatment with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy and catheter ablation.

[Mapping and ablation of cardiac arrhythmias : Never forget where you are coming from].

With the rapid development of new mapping and imaging technologies as well as catheter ablation technologies, it is increasingly important to understand the basic concepts of conventional mapping and ablation of cardiac arrhythmias. Prerequisite for successful ablation is the exact identification of the tachycardia mechanism and subsequent localization of the origin or tachycardic substrate. Only intracardiac electrograms provide decisive information regarding activation time and signal morphology.

Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease: Lessons Learned From More Than 10 Years Following a Sequential Ablation Approach.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the impact, safety, and success of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) transferring ablation strategies established in normal hearts.

Background: AF is an emerging arrhythmia in ACHD.

Methods: Fifty-seven consecutive ACHD (median age 51.

Value of an old school approach: safety and long-term success of radiofrequency current catheter ablation of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia in children and young adolescents.

Purpose: Radiofrequency current energy (RFC) ablation is still considered as the gold standard for atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT). Success-rates for AVNRT ablation vary irrespective of the ablation technology and strategy. This study aimed to access safety, efficacy, and long-term outcome of RFC catheter ablation for the treatment of AVNRT in children and adolescents aged < 19 years with special focus on modulation versus ablation of the AV nodal slow pathway (SP).

Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation with Heart Failure.

Background: Mortality and morbidity are higher among patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure than among those with heart failure alone. Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation has been proposed as a means of improving outcomes among patients with heart failure who are otherwise receiving appropriate treatment.

Methods: We randomly assigned patients with symptomatic paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation who did not have a response to antiarrhythmic drugs, had unacceptable side effects, or were unwilling to take these drugs to undergo either catheter ablation (179 patients) or medical therapy (rate or rhythm control) (184 patients) for atrial fibrillation in addition to guidelines-based therapy for heart failure.

[Non-invasive treatment of tachycardias during childhood].

In principle tachycardias during childhood do not differ from those in adulthood but they present with a significant age-dependency. Additionally the clinical presentation has a broad spectrum related to the different ages, from the neonatal period until adolescence. If congenital heart disease is present the hemodynamic compromise may be accentuated.

Differences in clinical and echocardiographic parameters between paroxysmal and persistent atrial flutter in the AURUM 8 study: targets for prevention of persistent arrhythmia?

Purpose: Cavotricuspid isthmus-dependent atrial flutter (AFL) can occur in a paroxysmal or persistent pattern. The aim of this study was to identify clinical, echocardiographic, and electrophysiological risk factors independently associated with persistence of AFL.

Methods: Patients of the recently published AURUM 8 study with paroxysmal versus persistent AFL were compared with respect to clinical and echocardiographic baseline characteristics as well as procedural parameters.

Gold vs. platinum-iridium tip catheter for cavotricuspid isthmus ablation: the AURUM 8 study.

Aims: Gold electrodes have the theoretical advantage of creating bigger lesions than platinum-iridium (Pt-Ir) electrodes. We performed a prospective randomized study to compare the clinical efficacy of standard 8 mm Pt-Ir tip catheter (control) and 8 mm gold-tip catheters in the ablation of the cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI)-dependent atrial flutter.

Methods And Results: A total of 463 patients undergoing CTI ablation in 19 clinical centres were randomized to receive the treatment by gold-tip or control catheter.

Mortality, morbidity, and complications in 3344 patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators: results fron the German ICD Registry EURID.

ICDs are the therapy of choice in patients with life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Mortality, morbidity, and complication rates including appropriate and inappropriate therapies are unknown when ICDs are used in routine medical care and not in well-defined patients included in multicenter trials. Therefore, the data of 3,344 patients (61.

Efficacy of antitachycardia pacing confirmed by stored electrograms. A retrospective analysis of 613 stored electrograms in implantable defibrillators.

The implantable defibrillator (ICD) is an established therapy in the prevention of sudden cardiac death by defibrillation of ventricular fibrillation. Another specific feature of the ICDs is antitachycardia pacing (ATP) of ventricular tachycardia. Several studies report success rates of ATP in 83 to 98% of cases.

[Adequate performance of a pectoral implanted defibrillator after high-dose radiation therapy for thyroid cancer].

The interference of implanted defibrillators (ICD) from electronic appliances is small. There is scant knowledge about the effects of radiation therapy on defibrillator function. Existing data commonly derive from in vitro tests of the devices.

Randomized comparison of antiarrhythmic drug therapy with implantable defibrillators in patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest : the Cardiac Arrest Study Hamburg (CASH).

Background: We conducted a prospective, multicenter, randomized comparison of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) versus antiarrhythmic drug therapy in survivors of cardiac arrest secondary to documented ventricular arrhythmias.

Methods And Results: From 1987, eligible patients were randomized to an ICD, amiodarone, propafenone, or metoprolol (ICD versus antiarrhythmic agents randomization ratio 1:3). Assignment to propafenone was discontinued in March 1992, after an interim analysis conducted in 58 patients showed a 61% higher all-cause mortality rate than in 61 ICD patients during a follow-up of 11.

Data base management in interventional electrophysiology--the relational advantage.

Unlabelled: A relational database was designed to facilitate patient management and storage of complex electrophysiologic data of patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation. The database has to deal with multiple data entries per patient record like radiofrequency current applications and catheters.

Background: Due to the complexity of catheter mapping and ablation therapy, the investigators have to handle various data types.

[High frequency current ablation of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias in congenital heart defects].

Supraventricular tachycardia is a frequent cause of disease in patients with congenital heart defects and has a potentially high impact on quality of life, morbidity and mortality of this patient cohort. Conventional treatment often fails to avoid recurrences of tachycardia in a long-term perspective. Potential side effects of antiarrhythmic drugs include aggravation of heart disease related disturbances of impulse generation and conduction properties or negative inotropic effects on haemodynamically impaired ventricular chambers.

[Anatomic distribution, conduction properties and recurrences after ablation of multiple in comparison with single accessory conduction pathways].

In 1076 consecutive patients referred for radiofrequency current catheter ablation, the anatomical distribution and conduction properties of accessory pathways (APs) as well as the mode of recurrence after ablation were retrospectively analyzed and compared in patients with multiple and single APs. Except for 17 patients with Ebstein's anomaly, the prevalence of patients of multiple APs in this cohort was 5.4%.

Radiofrequency catheter ablation of left atrial tachycardia originating within the pulmonary vein in a patient with dextrocardia.

A case is presented of a 38-year-old male with dextrocardia in whom radiofrequency current ablation of an incessant atrial tachycardia originating within the infero-lateral pulmonary vein was achieved. Activation mapping with detection of the earliest atrial activation was used for identification of the arrhythmogenic focus. In addition to fluoroscopy, transesophageal echocardiography was used for catheter guidance during the transseptal puncture.

Therapeutic consequences of newer studies addressing the problem of myocardial ischemia and ventricular arrhythmias.

Direct evidence from pathologic-anatomical studies in victims of sudden cardiac death has been given for acute ischemia (caused by either an acute thrombus, plaque fissuring or an organizing thrombus) to play a major role in the genesis of sudden cardiac death. Furthermore, indirect data on the effects of drugs in the setting of acute myocardial infarction have demonstrated that treating patients with beta-blocking agents is more beneficial than treating them with a pure anti-arrhythmic drug such as lidocaine. Whereas lidocaine, which also reduces the incidence of ventricular fibrillation in the setting of acute myocardial infarction, may produce an excess of mortality, beta-blockers reduce ventricular fibrillation and are associated with a prolonged survival.

[The implantable cardioverter/defibrillator].

Despite all advances in the diagnosis and therapy of cardiovascular diseases, the mortality from malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias is still a major health problem. In addition to established therapeutic strategies in the prevention of sudden cardiac death such as antiarrhythmic drug treatment, catheter ablation or antiarrhythmic drug treatment, cardioverter/defibrillator was introduced to clinical practice in 1980. The number of 50,000 overall implants reflects the current clinical status of the therapy with implantable cardioverter/defibrillators.

Catheter-induced mechanical conduction block of right-sided accessory fibers with Mahaim-type preexcitation to guide radiofrequency ablation.

Background: Accessory pathways originating at the tricuspid annulus that exhibit decremental antegrade conduction properties (Mahaim-type preexcitation) are amenable to radiofrequency (RF) current catheter ablation. However, a reliable and reproducible strategy for mapping and ablation of these fibers is lacking.

Methods And Results: Eleven patients with preexcited atrioventricular tachycardia involving a decrementally conducting antegrade accessory pathway underwent complete electrophysiological evaluation and subsequent attempts at RF catheter ablation.