Intracellular heat shock protein 70: a possible therapeutic target for preventing postoperative atrial fibrillation.

Postoperative atrial fibrillation is a frequent complication after cardiac surgery, associated with an increased risk of mortality and morbidity; thus, additional treatment and increasing costs of postoperative care are required. Inflammation and oxidative stress caused by ischemia-reperfusion during cardiac surgery may play an important role in the pathogenesis of postoperative atrial fibrillation. Stress-inducible heat shock proteins act as molecular chaperones that maintain cell homeostasis against stress in these events.

Defibrillation threshold testing: is it necessary during implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation?

Defibrillation threshold (DFT) testing has traditionally been a routine part of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation. DFT testing was developed in the early days of the ICD when failure of defibrillation was common, recipients had a high-risk of ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF), and the only therapy for rapid VT or VF was a shock. However, modern ICD systems have such a high rate of successful defibrillation that many electrophysiologists now question whether DFT testing is still worthwhile.