Stanford University, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford, CA, USA.
Published: December 2006
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects 1% of the population and results in a cost of 2.8 billion dollars from hospitalizations alone. Treatments that electrically isolate portions of the atria are clinically effective in curing AF. However, such minimally invasive catheter treatments face difficulties in mechanically positioning the catheter tip and visualizing the anatomy of the region. We propose a noncontact, intracardiac transducer that can ablate tissue and provide rudimentary imaging to guide therapy. Our design consists of a high-power, 20 mm by 2 mm, 128-element, transducer array placed on the side of 7-French catheter. The transducer will be used in imaging mode to locate the atrial wall; then, by focusing at that location, a lesion can be formed. Imaging of previously formed lesions could potentially guide placement of subsequent lesions. Successive rotations of the catheter will potentially enable a contiguous circular lesion to be created around the pulmonary vein. The challenge of intracardiac-sized transducers is achieving high intensities (300-5000 W/cm2) needed to raise the temperature of the tissue above 43 degrees C. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of an intracardiac-sized transducer for treatment of atrial fibrillation. In simulations and proof-of-concept experiments, we show a 37 degrees C temperature rise in the lesion location and demonstrate the possibility of lesion imaging.
We recently reviewed the article titled "Outcomes of Bolus Dose Furosemide Versus Continuous Infusion in Patients With Acute Decompensated Left Ventricular Failure and Atrial Fibrillation" published in Clinical Cardiology by [khan et al.] (1) with great interest. This study addresses a crucial area of clinical practice, and we appreciate the authors' efforts in exploring this topic.
Aims: Cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) ablation is the current ablation treatment for typical atrial flutter (AFL). However, post-ablation atrial tachyarrhythmias, mostly in the form of atrial fibrillation (AF), are frequently observed after CTI ablation. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of concomitant or isolated pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in patients with typical AFL scheduled for ablation.
Department of Anaesthesiology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska Universitetssjukhuset, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Background: The triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein (TG/HDL) ratio emerges as a promising marker for cardiovascular risk. However, the relationship between overall serum lipid levels and hemorrhagic stroke (HS) remains uncertain. Therefore, our study aims to explore the association between this novel index and mortality in HS patients.
Aims: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is guideline recommended for the treatment of symptomatic heart failure (HF) with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and prolonged QRS. However, patients with common comorbidities, such as persistent/permanent atrial fibrillation (AF), are often under-represented in clinical trials.
Methods: The Strategic Management to Optimize Response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (SMART) registry (NCT03075215) was a global, multicentre, registry that enrolled de novo CRT implants, or upgrade from pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator to CRT-defibrillator (CRT-D), using a quadripolar left ventricular lead in real-world clinical practice.
