Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Ischaemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation with chronic kidney disease undergoing peritoneal dialysis.
Little is known about the ischaemic stroke risk and benefit of warfarin therapy for stroke prevention in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) with concomitant atrial fibrillation (AF). Our objective was to determine the risk of ischaemic stroke in a 'real-world' cohort of PD patients with AF, and clinical benefit or harm of aspirin and warfarin. ⋯ In CKD patients on PD with AF, who had similar ischaemic stroke risk as non-CKD counterparts, warfarin therapy is associated with reduction in risk of ischaemic stroke without a higher risk of ICH.
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Recently cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging has been found feasible for the visualization of the underlying substrate for cardiac arrhythmias as well as for the visualization of cardiac catheters for diagnostic and ablation procedures. Real-time CMR-guided cavotricuspid isthmus ablation was performed in a series of six patients using a combination of active catheter tracking and catheter visualization using real-time MR imaging. ⋯ The combination of active catheter tracking and passive real-time visualization in CMR-guided electrophysiologic (EP) studies using advanced interventional hardware and software was safe and enabled efficient navigation, mapping, and ablation. These cases demonstrate significant progress in the development of MR-guided EP procedures.
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Review Meta Analysis
The impact of adjunctive complex fractionated atrial electrogram ablation and linear lesions on outcomes in persistent atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis.
In persistent atrial fibrillation (PsAF), success rates for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) alone are limited and additional substrate modification is often performed. The two most widely used substrate-based strategies are the ablation of complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFAE) and left atrial linear ablation (LALA) at the roof and mitral isthmus. However, it is unclear whether adjunctive CFAE ablation or LALA add significant benefit to PVI alone. We performed a meta-analysis to better gauge the benefit of adjunctive CFAE ablation and LALA in PsAF. ⋯ In PsAF, the addition of CFAE ablation or LALA, in comparison with PVI alone, offers no significant improvement in arrhythmia-free survival. Furthermore, they are associated with increases in both procedural and fluoroscopy times. The optimal ablation strategy for PsAF is currently unclear and needs further refinement.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Observational Study
First-line catheter ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: outcome of radiofrequency vs. cryoballoon pulmonary vein isolation.
First-line ablation prior to antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy is an option for symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF); however, the optimal ablation technique, radiofrequency (RF), or cryoballoon (CB) has to be determined. ⋯ NCT01360008.
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To determine the incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) fulfilling Utstein criteria in the Canton Ticino, Switzerland, the survival rate of OHCA patients and their neurological outcome. ⋯ The significant increase in Utstein comparator survival rates and improved neurological outcome in OHCA victims in Canton Ticino are the result of an effective OHCA management programme which includes large-scale public education, a coordinated fast EMS response, high density of external defibrillators, and advances in clinical interventions for OHCAs.