[Very long term follow-up after radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation: the Geneva experience]

Catheter ablation (CA) has emerged as an increasingly popular treatment option for selected patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) because drugs are frequently limited by side effects and poor effectiveness. However, very little data is available regarding outcomes of CA of AF beyond 5 years. Guidelines' recommendations are not clear regarding long-term oral anticoagulation (OAC) after 2 years. We assessed thromboembolic events (TE) and AF ablation outcomes at very long-term follow-up (> 5 years) after CA. During a mean follow-up of 9 years after CA, 68% patients were in stable sinus rhythm without anti-arrhythmic drugs and the TE event rate was 0.41 per 100 patients/year. Our data suggests that patients post ablation with a high risk for stroke (CHA2DS2-VASc ≥ 2) should however continue OAC treatment.

[Vasovagal syncope: diagnosis and management]

Vasovagal syncope is the main cause of syncope. The mechanism behind this syncope has not been clearly identified, but the main hypothesis is a paradoxical reaction of the autonomic nervous system leading to hypotension and/or bradycardia. According to the recommendations of the European Society of Cardiology, the diagnosis can be made only on the basis of history. In patients where the diagnosis is not clear, we can offer to make a tilt test, which is, however, limited in terms of sensitivity and does not represent the gold standard. The initial management is primarily conservative. Pacing should still be revisit by future studies.

[Atrial arrhythmias: mechanism, ECG feature and curative treatment]

Atrial arrhythmias are frequent and are an important cause of heart failure aggravation or cerebrovascular accidents. They show a clear trend towards increasing incidence with age. Restoring and maintaining sinus rhythm with antiarrhythmic drugs delivers only temporary success and is prone to long term failure and/ or side effects. The treatment of atrial arrhythmias using RF catheter ablation is progressively becoming the treatment of choice because of the high percentage of successful cures achieved with relatively rare complications and no long term side effects.

Unsuccessful AV Nodal Ablation in Atrial Fibrillation: An Alternative Method to Achieve Complete Heart Block

We report the case of an elderly patient who presented with poorly tolerated episodes of atrial arrhythmia refractory to medical treatment. AV node ablation was identified as the only alternative expected to be efficacious for symptom relief. However, this usually simple intervention failed. The goal of creating a complete AV block was finally achieved through ablation of the anterior fascicle of the His bundle, which represented the only pathway for residual conduction in this patient.

Inappropriate high-rate ventricular pacing in a patient with a defibrillator

We describe a patient who presented with high rate ventricular pacing secondary to dysfunction of his implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The device was also unable to communicate with the programmer and unable to treat ventricular fibrillation. Immediate disconnection of the ICD from the leads was the only effective recourse. Subsequent detailed technical analysis of the device revealed a different electrical circuit problem from that found in typical cases of runaway pacing. To our knowledge this is the first description of a malfunction of precisely this nature.

[Paroxysmal atrioventricular block during coronary revascularization with ultrasound. A case report]

The authors report the case of advanced atrioventricular block during a procedure of right coronary revascularisation with ultrasound. The different possible physiopathological mechanisms are discussed. Although no formal conclusions can be drawn, certain features suggest a paroxysmal nodal conduction defect secondary to transient parasympathetic stimulation by the ultrasound, a stimulation triggered by a Bezold-Jarish type of cardiac reflex or by direct local excitation of vagal fibres of the atrioventricular node.

Long-term outcome in patients treated by intracoronary stenting with ticlopidine and aspirin, and deleterious prognostic role of unstable angina pectoris

Compared with stable clinical conditions, unstable angina carries an increased risk of immediate and delayed cardiac adverse events after balloon coronary angioplasty. The influence of stent use in reducing these differences remains unknown. We analyzed the early (30 days) and late outcome of a cohort of 459 consecutive patients who underwent stent placement with ticlopidine and aspirin as antithrombotic regimen according to the presence (group 1, n = 151) or absence (group 2, n = 308) of unstable angina at rest (Braunwald classes II and III). Group 1 patients were older and more likely to be current or former smokers. In group 2, prior myocardial infarction was more frequent. Procedural, in-hospital results, and early outcome were similar in the 2 groups. However, over the long term, the incidence of myocardial infarction (11% vs 6%, p <0.04), target lesion revascularization (19% vs 13%, p <0.04), or any revascularization (30% vs 20%, p <0.01) was significantly higher in group 1. Kaplan-Meier probabilities of survival without myocardial infarction (85% vs 91%, p <0.05), survival without revascularization of the target lesion (73% vs 83%, p <0.01), survival without any revascularization (65% vs 77%, p <0.006), and survival without any events (61% vs 73%, p <0.009) were significantly worse in group 1. In addition, Cox multivariate analysis showed that unstable angina at rest was an independent predictor of target lesion revascularization, of survival without any revascularization, and without any events. Thus, unstable angina at rest remains an adverse prognostic indicator in patients treated with intracoronary stents, particularly with regard to subsequent requirement of revascularization procedures and event-free survival.