2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines

AIM

The "2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation" provides recommendations to guide clinicians in the treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted from May 12, 2022, to November 3, 2022, encompassing studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted on human subjects that were published in English from PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other selected databases relevant to this guideline. Additional relevant studies, published through November 2022, during the guideline writing process, were also considered by the writing committee and added to the evidence tables, where appropriate.

STRUCTURE

Atrial fibrillation is the most sustained common arrhythmia, and its incidence and prevalence are increasing in the United States and globally. Recommendations from the "2014 AHA/ACC/HRS Guideline for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation" and the "2019 AHA/ACC/HRS Focused Update of the 2014 AHA/ACC/HRS Guideline for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation" have been updated with new evidence to guide clinicians. In addition, new recommendations addressing atrial fibrillation and thromboembolic risk assessment, anticoagulation, left atrial appendage occlusion, atrial fibrillation catheter or surgical ablation, and risk factor modification and atrial fibrillation prevention have been developed.

2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines

AIM

The "2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation" provides recommendations to guide clinicians in the treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted from May 12, 2022, to November 3, 2022, encompassing studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted on human subjects that were published in English from PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other selected databases relevant to this guideline. Additional relevant studies, published through November 2022, during the guideline writing process, were also considered by the writing committee and added to the evidence tables, where appropriate.

STRUCTURE

Atrial fibrillation is the most sustained common arrhythmia, and its incidence and prevalence are increasing in the United States and globally. Recommendations from the "2014 AHA/ACC/HRS Guideline for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation" and the "2019 AHA/ACC/HRS Focused Update of the 2014 AHA/ACC/HRS Guideline for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation" have been updated with new evidence to guide clinicians. In addition, new recommendations addressing atrial fibrillation and thromboembolic risk assessment, anticoagulation, left atrial appendage occlusion, atrial fibrillation catheter or surgical ablation, and risk factor modification and atrial fibrillation prevention have been developed.

2023 HRS/APHRS/LAHRS guideline on cardiac physiologic pacing for the avoidance and mitigation of heart failure

Cardiac physiologic pacing (CPP), encompassing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and conduction system pacing (CSP), has emerged as a pacing therapy strategy that may mitigate or prevent the development of heart failure (HF) in patients with ventricular dyssynchrony or pacing-induced cardiomyopathy. This clinical practice guideline is intended to provide guidance on indications for CRT for HF therapy and CPP in patients with pacemaker indications or HF, patient selection, pre-procedure evaluation and preparation, implant procedure management, follow-up evaluation and optimization of CPP response, and use in pediatric populations. Gaps in knowledge, pointing to new directions for future research, are also identified.

2023 HRS/APHRS/LAHRS guideline on cardiac physiologic pacing for the avoidance and mitigation of heart failure

Cardiac physiologic pacing (CPP), encompassing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and conduction system pacing (CSP), has emerged as a pacing therapy strategy that may mitigate or prevent the development of heart failure (HF) in patients with ventricular dyssynchrony or pacing-induced cardiomyopathy. This clinical practice guideline is intended to provide guidance on indications for CRT for HF therapy and CPP in patients with pacemaker indications or HF, patient selection, pre-procedure evaluation and preparation, implant procedure management, follow-up evaluation and optimization of CPP response, and use in pediatric populations. Gaps in knowledge, pointing to new directions for future research, are also identified.

2022 HRS expert consensus statement on evaluation and management of arrhythmic risk in neuromuscular disorders

This international multidisciplinary document is intended to guide electrophysiologists, cardiologists, other clinicians, and health care professionals in caring for patients with arrhythmic complications of neuromuscular disorders (NMDs). The document presents an overview of arrhythmias in NMDs followed by detailed sections on specific disorders: Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Becker muscular dystrophy, and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2; myotonic dystrophy type 1 and type 2; Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 1B; facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy; and mitochondrial myopathies, including Friedreich ataxia and Kearns-Sayre syndrome, with an emphasis on managing arrhythmic cardiac manifestations. End-of-life management of arrhythmias in patients with NMDs is also covered. The document sections were drafted by the writing committee members according to their area of expertise. The recommendations represent the consensus opinion of the expert writing group, graded by class of recommendation and level of evidence utilizing defined criteria. The recommendations were made available for public comment; the document underwent review by the Heart Rhythm Society Scientific and Clinical Documents Committee and external review and endorsement by the partner and collaborating societies. Changes were incorporated based on these reviews. By using a breadth of accumulated available evidence, the document is designed to provide practical and actionable clinical information and recommendations for the diagnosis and management of arrhythmias and thus improve the care of patients with NMDs.

2021 ACC/AHA/SCAI Guideline for Coronary Artery Revascularization: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines

AIM

The guideline for coronary artery revascularization replaces the 2011 coronary artery bypass graft surgery and the 2011 and 2015 percutaneous coronary intervention guidelines, providing a patient-centric approach to guide clinicians in the treatment of patients with significant coronary artery disease undergoing coronary revascularization as well as the supporting documentation to encourage their use.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted from May 2019 to September 2019, encompassing studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted on human subjects that were published in English from PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Collaboration, CINHL Complete, and other relevant databases. Additional relevant studies, published through May 2021, were also considered. Structure: Coronary artery disease remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Coronary revascularization is an important therapeutic option when managing patients with coronary artery disease. The 2021 coronary artery revascularization guideline provides recommendations based on contemporary evidence for the treatment of these patients. The recommendations present an evidence-based approach to managing patients with coronary artery disease who are being considered for coronary revascularization, with the intent to improve quality of care and align with patients' interests.

2021 ACC/AHA/SCAI Guideline for Coronary Artery Revascularization: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines

AIM

The executive summary of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions coronary artery revascularization guideline provides the top 10 items readers should know about the guideline. In the full guideline, the recommendations replace the 2011 coronary artery bypass graft surgery guideline and the 2011 and 2015 percutaneous coronary intervention guidelines. This summary offers a patient-centric approach to guide clinicians in the treatment of patients with significant coronary artery disease undergoing coronary revascularization, as well as the supporting documentation to encourage their use.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted from May 2019 to September 2019, encompassing studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted on human subjects that were published in English from PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Collaboration, CINHL Complete, and other relevant databases. Additional relevant studies, published through May 2021, were also considered. Structure: Recommendations from the earlier percutaneous coronary intervention and coronary artery bypass graft surgery guidelines have been updated with new evidence to guide clinicians in caring for patients undergoing coronary revascularization. This summary includes recommendations, tables, and figures from the full guideline that relate to the top 10 take-home messages. The reader is referred to the full guideline for graphical flow charts, supportive text, and tables with additional details about the rationale for and implementation of each recommendation, and the evidence tables detailing the data considered in the development of this guideline.

2021 ACC/AHA/SCAI Guideline for Coronary Artery Revascularization: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines

AIM

The guideline for coronary artery revascularization replaces the 2011 coronary artery bypass graft surgery and the 2011 and 2015 percutaneous coronary intervention guidelines, providing a patient-centric approach to guide clinicians in the treatment of patients with significant coronary artery disease undergoing coronary revascularization as well as the supporting documentation to encourage their use.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted from May 2019 to September 2019, encompassing studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted on human subjects that were published in English from PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Collaboration, CINHL Complete, and other relevant databases. Additional relevant studies, published through May 2021, were also considered.

STRUCTURE

Coronary artery disease remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Coronary revascularization is an important therapeutic option when managing patients with coronary artery disease. The 2021 coronary artery revascularization guideline provides recommendations based on contemporary evidence for the treatment of these patients. The recommendations present an evidence-based approach to managing patients with coronary artery disease who are being considered for coronary revascularization, with the intent to improve quality of care and align with patients' interests.

Do you hear what you see? Utilizing phonocardiography to enhance proficiency in cardiac auscultation

INTRODUCTION

Cardiac auscultation skills have proven difficult to train and maintain. The authors investigated whether using phonocardiograms as visual adjuncts to audio cases improved first-year medical students' cardiac auscultation performance.

METHODS

The authors randomized 135 first-year medical students using an email referral link in 2018 and 2019 to train using audio-only cases (audio group) or audio with phonocardiogram tracings (combined group). Training included 7 cases with normal and abnormal auscultation findings. The assessment included feature identification and diagnostic accuracy using 14 audio-only cases, 7 presented during training, and 7 alternate versions of the same diagnoses. The assessment-administered immediately after training and repeated 7 days later-prompted participants to identify the key features and diagnoses for 14 audio-only cases. Key feature scores and diagnostic accuracy were compared between groups using repeated measures ANOVA.

RESULTS

Mean key feature scores were statistically significantly higher in the combined group (70%, 95% CI 67-75%) compared to the audio group (61%, 95% CI 56-66%) (F(1,116) = 6.144, p = 0.015, d_s = 0.45). Similarly, mean diagnostic accuracy in the combined group (68%, 95% CI 62-73%) was significantly higher than the audio group, although with small effect size (59%, 95% CI 54-65%) (F(1,116) = 4.548, p = 0.035, d_s = 0.40). Time on task for the assessment and prior auscultation experience did not significantly impact performance on either measure.

DISCUSSION

The addition of phonocardiograms to supplement cardiac auscultation training improves diagnostic accuracy and heart sound feature identification amongst novice students compared to training with audio alone.

2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines

A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines

Endorsed by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the American Geriatrics Society, the American Society of Preventive Cardiology, and the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association

2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines

1. The most important way to prevent atherosclerotic vascular disease, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation is to promote a healthy lifestyle throughout life.

2. A team-based care approach is an effective strategy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Clinicians should evaluate the social determinants of health that affect individuals to inform treatment decisions.

3. Adults who are 40 to 75 years of age and are being evaluated for cardiovascular disease prevention should undergo 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk estimation and have a clinician–patient risk discussion before starting on pharmacological therapy, such as antihypertensive therapy, a statin, or aspirin. The presence or absence of additional risk-enhancing factors can help guide decisions about preventive interventions in select individuals, as can coronary artery calcium scanning.

4. All adults should consume a healthy diet that emphasizes the intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, lean vegetable or animal protein, and fish and minimizes the intake of trans fats, processed meats, refined carbohydrates, and sweetened beverages. For adults with overweight and obesity, counseling and caloric restriction are recommended for achieving and maintaining weight loss.

5. Adults should engage in at least 150 minutes per week of accumulated moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity physical activity.

6. For adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus, lifestyle changes, such as improving dietary habits and achieving exercise recommendations are crucial. If medication is indicated, metformin is first-line therapy, followed by consideration of a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor or a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist.

7. All adults should be assessed at every healthcare visit for tobacco use, and those who use tobacco should be assisted and strongly advised to quit.

8. Aspirin should be used infrequently in the routine primary prevention of ASCVD because of lack of net benefit.

9. Statin therapy is first-line treatment for primary prevention of ASCVD in patients with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (≥190 mg/dL), those with diabetes mellitus, who are 40 to 75 years of age, and those determined to be at sufficient ASCVD risk after a clinician–patient risk discussion.

10. Nonpharmacological interventions are recommended for all adults with elevated blood pressure or hypertension. For those requiring pharmacological therapy, the target blood pressure should generally be <130/80 mm Hg.

Reexamination of the UN10 Rule to Discontinue Resuscitation During In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

IMPORTANCE

Several clinical decision rules (CDRs) have been developed to help practitioners know when to safely terminate resuscitative efforts after in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). The UN10 rule, a CDR that uses 3 intra-arrest variables, has been shown to predict a poor chance of survival to discharge. However, its large-scale applicability in clinical settings remains unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the performance of a parsimonious CDR in a national cohort of individuals with IHCA.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This retrospective cohort study used a nationwide cohort from the American Heart Association Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation IHCA registry to derive a sample of 96 509 patients from 716 US hospitals who experienced IHCA from January 1, 2000, to January 26, 2016. Data analysis began in January 2018 and concluded in June 2018.

EXPOSURES

The UN10 rule uses 3 variables: (1) unwitnessed arrest, (2) nonshockable rhythm, and (3) no return of spontaneous circulation within 10 minutes of resuscitative efforts. The CDR indicates futility if all 3 criteria are met. This CDR was analyzed according to the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) reporting guideline.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge following resuscitation. Favorable neurologic status at discharge was also assessed. Overall rates of survival and survival with favorable neurologic status (cerebral performance category score, 1 or 2) were compared with predicted values by the UN10 rule using 2 × 2 contingency tables.

RESULTS

Of 96 509 patients, 55 761 (57.8%) were men, and the mean (SD) age was 67.1 (15.3) years. In total, 18 713 patients (19.4%) survived to discharge, and 16 134 patients (16.7%) were discharged with a favorable neurologic status. Overall, 15 838 patients (16.4%) met all 3 criteria for futility in the UN10 rule. A total of 1005 patients (6.3%) who met the UN10 rule survived to discharge, and 754 (4.8%) survived with favorable neurologic status. The percentage of patients meeting the UN10 rule (ie, predicting futile resuscitation) who actually survived in our study cohort was substantially higher than the initial derivation cohort (0%) and single-center validation cohort (1.1%). The positive predictive value of the UN10 rule was 93.7% (95% CI, 93.3%-94.0%), which was lower than the initial derivation cohort (100%; 95% CI, 97.5%-100%) and validation cohort (98.9%; 95% CI, 96.5%-99.7%).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Patients who met the UN10 rule were associated with unfavorable neurologic status and low rates of survival after IHCA. Yet their survival rates are higher than reported in the initial validation study, raising the question of whether the UN10 rule may have limited utility as a definitive measure of futility during resuscitations in real-world clinical settings.

2017 American Heart Association Focused Update on Adult Basic Life Support and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Quality: An Update to the American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a lifesaving technique for victims of sudden cardiac arrest. Despite advances in resuscitation science, basic life support remains a critical factor in determining outcomes. The American Heart Association recommendations for adult basic life support incorporate the most recently published evidence and serve as the basis for education and training for laypeople and healthcare providers who perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

A Review of Automated Methods for Detection of Myocardial Ischemia and Infarction Using Electrocardiogram and Electronic Health Records

There is a growing body of research focusing on automatic detection of ischemia and myocardial infarction (MI) using computer algorithms. In clinical settings, ischemia and MI are diagnosed using electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings as well as medical context including patient symptoms, medical history, and risk factors-information that is often stored in the electronic health records. The ECG signal is inspected to identify changes in the morphology such as ST-segment deviation and T-wave changes. Some of the proposed methods compute similar features automatically while others use nonconventional features such as wavelet coefficients. This review provides an overview of the methods that have been proposed in this area, focusing on their historical evolution, the publicly available datasets that they have used to evaluate their performance, and the details of their algorithms for ECG and EHR analysis. The validation strategies that have been used to evaluate the performance of the proposed methods are also presented. Finally, the paper provides recommendations for future research to address the shortcomings of the currently existing methods and practical considerations to make the proposed technical solutions applicable in clinical practice.

Duration of resuscitation efforts for in-hospital cardiac arrest by predicted outcomes: Insights from Get With The Guidelines - Resuscitation

BACKGROUND

The duration of resuscitation efforts has implications for patient survival of in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). It is unknown if patients with better predicted survival of IHCA receive longer attempts at resuscitation.

METHODS

In a multicenter observational cohort of 40,563 adult non-survivors of resuscitation efforts for IHCA between 2000 and 2012, we determined the pre-arrest predicted probability of survival to discharge with good neurologic status, categorized into very low (<1%), low (1-3%), average (>3%-15%), and above average (>15%). We then determined the association between predicted arrest survival probability and the duration of resuscitation efforts.

RESULTS

The median duration of resuscitation efforts among all non-survivors was 19min (interquartile range 13-28min). Overall, the median duration of resuscitation efforts was longer in non-survivors with a higher predicted probability of survival with good neurologic status (median of 16, 17, 20, and 23min among the groups predicted to have very low, low, average, and above probabilities, respectively; P<0.001). However, the duration of resuscitation was often discordant with predicted survival, including longer than median duration of resuscitation efforts in 40.4% of patients with very low predicted survival and shorter than median duration of resuscitation efforts in 31.9% of patients with above average predicted survival.

CONCLUSIONS

The duration of resuscitation efforts in patients with IHCA was generally consistent with their predicted survival. However, nearly a third of patients with above average predicted outcomes received shorter than average (less than 19min) duration of resuscitation efforts.

A comparison of the universal TOR Guideline to the absence of prehospital ROSC and duration of resuscitation in predicting futility from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

INTRODUCTION

The Universal Termination of Resuscitation (TOR) Guideline accurately identifies potential out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors. However, implementation is inconsistent with some Emergency Medical Service (EMS) agencies using absence of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) as sole criterion for termination.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the performance of the Universal TOR Guideline with the single criterion of no prehospital ROSC. Second, to determine factors associated with survival for patients transported without a ROSC. Lastly, to compare the impact of time to ROSC as a marker of futility to the Universal TOR Guideline.

DESIGN

Retrospective, observational cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS

Non-traumatic, adult (≥18 years) OHCA patients of presumed cardiac etiology treated by EMS providers.

SETTING

ROC-PRIMED and ROC-Epistry post ROC-PRIMED databases between 2007 and 2011.

OUTCOMES

Primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge and the secondary outcome was functional survival. We used multivariable regression to evaluate factors associated with survival in patients transported without a ROSC.

RESULTS

36,543 treated OHCAs occurred of which 9467 (26%) were transported to hospital without a ROSC. Patients transported without a ROSC who met the Universal TOR Guideline for transport had a survival of 3.0% (95% CI 2.5-3.4%) compared to 0.7% (95% CI 0.4-0.9%) in patients who met the Universal TOR Guideline for termination. The Universal TOR Guideline identified 99% of survivors requiring continued resuscitation and transportation to hospital including early identification of survivors who sustained a ROSC after extended durations of CPR.

CONCLUSION

Using absence of ROSC as a sole predictor of futility misses potential survivors. The Universal TOR Guideline remains a strong predictor of survival.

ICU Use and Quality of Care for Patients With Myocardial Infarction and Heart Failure

BACKGROUND

Quality of care for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure (HF) varies across hospitals, but the factors driving variation are incompletely understood. We evaluated the relationship between a hospital's ICU or coronary care unit (CCU) admission rate and quality of care provided to patients with AMI or HF.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized in 2010 with AMI or HF was performed. Hospitals were grouped into quintiles according to their risk- and reliability-adjusted ICU admission rates for AMI or HF. We examined the rates that hospitals failed to deliver standard AMI or HF processes of care (process measure failure rates), 30-day mortality, 30-day readmissions, and Medicare spending after adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics.

RESULTS

Hospitals in the lowest quintile had ICU admission rates < 29% for AMI or < 8% for HF. Hospitals in the top quintile had rates > 61% for AMI or > 24% for HF. Hospitals in the highest quintile had higher process measure failure rates for some but not all process measures. Hospitals in the top quintile had greater 30-day mortality (14.8% vs 14.0% [P = .002] for AMI; 11.4% vs 10.6% [P < .001] for HF), but no differences in 30-day readmissions or Medicare spending were seen compared with hospitals in the lowest quintile.

CONCLUSIONS

Hospitals with the highest rates of ICU admission for patients with AMI or HF delivered lower quality of care and had higher 30-day mortality for these conditions. Hospitals with high ICU use may be targets to improve care delivery.

National Trends in Ambulatory Oral Anticoagulant Use

BACKGROUND

Four direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been brought to market for the treatment of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism. Many forces, including numerous positive trial results, emerging safety concerns, marketing, and promotion, may shape DOAC adoption by providers. However, relatively little is known regarding their ambulatory utilization compared with warfarin, as well as the degree to which they have decreased under-treatment of atrial fibrillation.

METHODS

We used the IMS Health National Disease and Therapeutic Index, a nationally representative audit of outpatient office visits, to estimate the use of warfarin and DOACs between 2009 and 2014.

RESULTS

Overall, visits with anticoagulation use increased from 2.05 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.82-2.27) to 2.83 (95% CI, 2.49-3.17) million (M) quarterly visits (P < .001). Of these, DOAC use has grown to 4.21M (95% CI, 3.63M-4.79M; 38.2% of total) treatment visits in 2014 since their introduction in 2010. Use of all oral anticoagulants in treatment visits for atrial fibrillation has increased from 0.88M (95% CI, 0.74M-1.02M) to 1.72M (95% CI, 1.47M-1.97M; P < .001), with similar DOAC and warfarin use in 2014. Atrial fibrillation visits with anticoagulant use increased from 51.9% (95% CI, 50.4%-53.8%) to 66.9% (95% CI, 65.0%-69.3%) between 2009 and 2014 (P < .001). In 2014, rivaroxaban was the most commonly prescribed DOAC for atrial fibrillation (47.9% of office visits), followed by apixaban (26.5%) and dabigatran (25.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

Direct oral anticoagulants have been adopted rapidly, matching the use of warfarin, and are associated with increased use of oral anticoagulation for patients with atrial fibrillation.

Digoxin: its role in contemporary medicine

Digoxin has been a key therapeutic for heart failure and atrial tachyarrhythmias for over 200 years following Withering's groundbreaking work depicting the therapeutic benefit of the common botanical foxglove in his 1785 monograph. The use of digoxin preceded any randomised evidence or even basic understanding of its mechanism of action. Over the past two decades, there has been mounting evidence further challenging the safety and efficacy of digoxin, while multiple other therapies for both heart failure and atrial tachyarrhythmias have proven to be more effective and safe. Altogether, digoxin still has an important role in contemporary pharmacotherapeutics, though its role remains controversial and should be reserved for selective patients and clinical situations, with careful attention to serum concentrations.

Management of Arrhythmias in Cardiac Sarcoidosis

The prevalence of cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis is under-recognized and is associated with multiple complications, including conduction block, arrhythmias, and sudden death. The comparative roles of common therapies have been inadequately studied. The purpose of this review is to examine the literature regarding treatments utilized to manage arrhythmias associated with cardiac sarcoidosis.

Abstract 322: Duration of Resuscitation Efforts for In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest by Predicted Survival Outcomes: Insights from Get With The Guidelines - Resuscitation

Background. The duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation has implications for patient survival of in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). However, the duration of resuscitation efforts should be balanced against the probability of patient survival. It is unknown whether the duration of attempted resuscitation for IHCA is associated with the predicted probability of patient survival.

Methods. We identified 40,563 non-survivors of resuscitation efforts for IHCA within the Get With The Guidelines [[Unable to Display Character: &#8211;]] Resuscitation Registry between 2000 and 2012. In these patients, we determined the pre-arrest predicted probability of survival to discharge with good neurologic status using the previously validated GO-FAR score. Using this tool, predicted survival was categorized into very low (<1%), low (1-3%), average (>3% to 15%), and above average (>15%). Duration of resuscitation efforts were measured in minutes from the onset of cardiac arrest to termination of resuscitation efforts. We then compared the duration of resuscitation efforts by predicted survival categories.

Results. Among 40,563 non-survivors of IHCA, the predicted survival to discharge was very low in 4801 (11.8%) patients, low in 8889 (21.9%), average in 19910 (49.1%) patients, and above average in 6963 (17.2%) patients. The median duration of attempted resuscitation was 19 minutes and the duration of attempted resuscitation was longer in non-survivors with a higher predicted probability of survival (median duration in minutes from very low to above average categories of predicted survival, 16 vs 17 vs 20 vs 23, P<.001). However, the duration of attempted resuscitation was often discordant with predicted survival (Figure), including shorter than median duration of attempted resuscitation in 31.9% of patients with above average predicted survival.

Conclusions. In a national cohort of non-survivors of IHCA, the duration of attempted resuscitation correlated overall with predicted arrest survival. However, nearly a third of patients with above average predicted survival received shorter than average attempted resuscitation efforts. Emphasis on an adequate duration of attempted resuscitation, particularly among patients with better than average predicted outcomes, may have implications for improving in-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes.