Publications by authors named "Vincenzo M LA Fazia"
Cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) signals are non-excitatory signals that are applied during the myocyte's absolute refractory period. These signals have been demonstrated to have an inotropic effect without increasing myocardial oxygen consumption. This has been observed in both preclinical animal studies and randomized clinical trials.
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- - Cardiac device infections (CDIs) pose serious health risks for patients with implanted devices, leading to higher rates of illness, longer hospital stays, and increased healthcare costs.
- - Managing CDIs effectively requires a mix of suitable antibiotic treatments and preventive methods to decrease infection risk, with a special focus on antibiotic prophylaxis and new delivery systems.
- - This review outlines various prophylactic treatments and antibiotic regimens for CDIs, highlighting the importance of early diagnosis and tailored antibiotic choices for better treatment outcomes.
Pregnancy entails notable physiological alterations and hormonal fluctuations that affect the well-being of both the fetus and the mother. Cardiovascular events and arrhythmias are a major concern during pregnancy, especially in women with comorbidities or a history of arrhythmias. This paper provides an overview of the prevalence, therapies, and prognoses of different types of arrhythmias during pregnancy.
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- * Most patients had drug-refractory VT, with a significant portion having low-voltage zones in the heart, particularly in the interventricular septum, indicating a specific substrate for VT.
- * After an average follow-up of 32 months, 41% of patients experienced sustained VT/VF recurrence, but those achieving complete procedural success had a reduced risk of recurrence compared to those who did not.
Article Synopsis
- Pulsed-field ablation (PFA) is a new technique for treating heart arrhythmias that focuses on the heart muscle without using heat. The study aims to determine how repeated applications and the contact force of the catheter affect the creation of lesions in heart tissue.
- Researchers used a circular loop catheter to test these factors on a potato model and a swine heart model, observing that more repetitions and better contact lead to deeper and more effective lesions.
- The results suggest that successful PFA relies on the physics of the procedure rather than just the immediate disappearance of electrical signals, indicating a need for precise application techniques.
Article Synopsis
- This study looked at patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who had a specific heart procedure called pulsed-field ablation (PFA).
- Researchers wanted to see if having heart rhythm problems right after the procedure could predict problems later.
- They found that patients who had rhythm issues in the second or third month after PFA were more likely to have problems a year later, suggesting that the "blanking period" should be considered only 1 month instead of 3.
Article Synopsis
- Purkinje fibers are important in causing ventricular fibrillation (VF) and polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PMVT), and fascicular substrate modification (FSM) is a proposed treatment method for recurrent VF.
- This study examined 18 patients who underwent catheter-based FSM targeting the Purkinje fibers, finding that the procedure was both safe and effective, with no complications and high success rates.
- After 24 months, 88.9% of the patients remained free from arrhythmias, highlighting the efficacy of FSM compared to traditional antiarrhythmic medications.
Background: Catheter ablation (CA) of atrial fibrillation is routinely used to obtain rhythm control. Evidence suggest that catheter ablation should be done during uninterrupted oral anticoagulation.
Methods: Italian Registry in the setting of atrial fibrillation ablation with rivaroxaban (IRIS) is an Italian multicenter, non-interventional, prospective study which enrolled 250 consecutive atrial fibrillation patients eligible for catheter ablation on rivaroxaban.
Article Synopsis
- Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common heart rhythm disorder that increases the risk of stroke and cardiovascular deaths, traditionally treated with antiarrhythmic drugs and catheter ablation.
- Pulsed field ablation (PFA) is an innovative approach that uses non-thermal electric fields to target heart tissue selectively, avoiding the damage caused by conventional thermal ablation methods.
- Clinical trials, including MANIFEST-PF and ADVENT, show PFA is effective for pulmonary vein isolation with fewer complications, signaling a potential shift towards PFA as the new standard for treating AF in the future.
Introduction: Both atrial fibrillation (AF) and amyloidosis increase stroke risk. We evaluated the best anticoagulation strategy in AF patients with coexistent amyloidosis.
Methods: Consecutive AF patients with concomitant amyloidosis were divided into two groups based on the postablation stroke-prophylaxis approach; group 1: left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) in eligible patients and group 2: oral anticoagulation (OAC).
A 70-year-old man with recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF) underwent transcatheter radiofrequency ablation after an earlier unsuccessful attempt. Although typical AF triggers were ablated, the patient's condition persisted, leading to the identification of the interatrial septum (IAS) as the probable source of the tachycardia trigger. Given the depth and thickness of the IAS, traditional radiofrequency ablation proved ineffective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present a case of persistent complete atrioventricular block that occurred during the diagnostic portion of a premature ventricular contractions' radiofrequency ablation in a complex heart failure patient. The case was managed by bailout deep left ventricular septal pacing after bipolar radiofrequency elimination of premature ventricular contractions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: High-voltage pulses can cause hemolysis.
Objectives: The authors evaluated the occurrence of hemoglobinuria after pulsed-field ablation (PFA) and its impact on renal function in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Methods: A consecutive series of patients with AF undergoing PFA were included in this analysis.
Pediatric cardiomyopathies (CMs) and electrical diseases constitute a heterogeneous spectrum of disorders distinguished by structural and electrical abnormalities in the heart muscle, attributed to a genetic variant. They rank among the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population, with an annual incidence of 1.1-1.
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- 3D-intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) enhances visualization of the left atrial appendage (LAA) during surgical procedures and leads to a high success rate for LAA occlusions.
- In a study of 274 patients, 3D-ICE showed better accuracy in sizing the device compared to traditional 2D-ICE, with a 96.3% agreement on the final device size.
- Both imaging methods provided a similar procedural success rate, but 3D-ICE reduced the need for device recapture and resizing during the procedure.
Safety and feasibility of same-day discharge following uncomplicated transvenous lead extraction.
J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol
February 2024
Introduction: Transvenous lead extraction (TLE), while mostly a safe procedure, has risk of serious periprocedural complications. As such, overnight hospitalization remains a routine practice. In our center, we routinely discharge patients on the same day following an uncomplicated TLE.
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- The study analyzed the impact of pulsed-field ablation (PFA) on pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF), comparing it with standard radiofrequency ablation (RFA).
- It involved 28 patients who had previously undergone multiple RFAs and experienced PH, assessing changes in pulmonary artery pressure before and after the treatment.
- Results showed that PFA did not worsen mean pulmonary artery pressure compared to RFA, highlighting PFA as a potentially safer option for these patients.