Electrophysiology & Arrhythmia

Women implanted with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) like pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy technologies are more likely to experience acute CIED complications than men who undergo the same procedures, according to work published Jan. 16 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Medtronic announced on Jan. 15 the launch of a mobile app that connects four of the company’s pacemakers to patients’ smartphones and tablets, removing the need for bedside monitors or other remote monitoring equipment.

Patients with atrial fibrillation can safely continue oral anticoagulation (OAC) while undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), suggests a retrospective study published Jan. 7 in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Men who are dissatisfied with their marriages are around 86 percent more likely to experience sudden cardiac death (SCD) than those who are very satisfied, according to research published in the Jan. 1 edition of the American Journal of Cardiology.

A high-density electroanatomic mapping study of 75 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) has concluded that even a regular alcohol intake—up to 14 standard drinks per week—is associated with impairments in electrical signaling and more electrical evidence of scarring, signaling worse outcomes.

Survivors of heart attack, stroke and cardiac arrest are not only less likely to maintain a job following those events, but their earnings might take a significant hit even if they stay employed, researchers reported Jan. 7 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

AI applied to an electrocardiogram (EKG) test reliably detected asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (ALVD)—a precursor to heart failure—and predicted which patients were most at risk of developing the condition in the future, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in Nature Medicine.

A side-by-side comparison of electronic and analog stethoscopes suggests a digital approach to auscultation is indeed superior to its predecessors, debunking the idea that electronic models might suffer from sound cutoffs and contact artifacts that decrease their utility.

Chronic exposure to secondhand smoke in common settings like cars, homes and casinos may increase a person’s susceptibility to cardiac alternans, a precursor to ventricular arrhythmias, according to an animal study published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

With use of cardiac implantable electronic devices on the rise, experts stress device selection, prophylactic antibiotics, pre-procedural protocols and post-implementation vigilance.

Compared to drug therapy alone, catheter ablation nearly halved the risk of death and improved a range of clinical outcomes for patients with both heart failure and atrial fibrillation (AFib) in a meta-analysis.

About 1 in 6 patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AFib) who are considered at low risk of stroke advance to a higher risk category within one year, according to a registry study published in the Jan. 1 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.