Cardiac Arrhythmias 2003: Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Cardiac Arrhythmias

Front Matter....Pages I-XXV
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Sympathetic and Vagal Fibrillation: Do They Exist?....Pages 1-10
“Lone” Atrial Fibrillation in Athletes: A Consequence 0f Long- Term Intensive Sport Practice....Pages 11-21
Predicting Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Hypertension: Can We Do It?....Pages 23-28
What Is the Impact of Atrial Fibrillation on the Clinical Course of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?....Pages 29-35
Atrial Fibrillation in Heart Failure: Prognostic Significance and Management....Pages 37-41
Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery: What’s All the Fuss About?....Pages 43-49
“Pill in the Pocket”: How Effective and Safe is this Strategy for Treatment of Recurrences of Atrial Fibrillation?....Pages 51-56
Cardioversion of Recent Onset Atrial Fibrillation: Which Drug to Prefer in the Individual Patient?....Pages 57-63
Pretreatment with Antiarrhythmic Drugs: Is It Useful to Avoid Immediate and Early Postcardioversion Recurrences?....Pages 65-70
Is Echocardiography Useful to Predict Successful Cardioversion of Atrial Fibrillation and Long-Term Maintenance of Sinus Rhythm?....Pages 71-78
Does the Policy of Repeated Early Cardioversion for Recurrences of Atrial Fibrillation Work?....Pages 79-82
Front Matter....Pages 83-83
Which Is the Ideal Drug for Chronic Prophylaxis of Atrial Fibrillation?....Pages 85-92
ACE Inhibitors and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers: a New Effective Non-Conventional Approach to Prevent Atrial Fibrillation....Pages 93-97
Rate Control of Atrial Fibrillation: By How Much Should the Ventricular Rate be Lowered?....Pages 99-105
Ablate and Pace: Is This Still a Valid Option?....Pages 107-116
Transvascular Parasympathetic Stimulation for Ventricular Rate Control During Atrial Fibrillation: A Bionic Approach....Pages 117-126
Management of Atrial Fibrillation: Is it Already Time to Update the Recent ACC/AHA/ESC Guidelines?....Pages 127-133
Front Matter....Pages 135-135
Atrial Fibrillation Suppression: What Role Does It Have?....Pages 137-140
Dual-chamber ICDs: How Effective and Safe Are They in the Treatment of Atrial Tachyarrhythmias?....Pages 141-148
Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: Are We Still “Learning While Burning”?....Pages 149-158
Front Matter....Pages 135-135
Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: Is a Cure at Hand?....Pages 159-166
Atrial Fibrillation: Anatomical Guidance Is Superior to Electrophysiological Guidance for Ablation....Pages 167-171
Atrial Fibrillation: Catheter Laser Balloon Ablation....Pages 173-176
Isolation of Pulmonary Veins Using Cryothermal Technologies....Pages 177-187
Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation by Radiofrequency: Circular Energy Delivery....Pages 189-194
Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: What Are the Risks and Complications and How Do We Avoid Them?....Pages 195-203
Risk Stratification and Prevention of Thromboembolism: What Is the Role of Intracardiac Echocardiography?....Pages 205-213
Radiofrequency and Microwave Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation During Open Heart Surgery: What Are the Long-Term Results?....Pages 215-220
Minimally Invasive Surgical Approach to Radiofrequency Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: Is the Game Worth the Candle?....Pages 221-227
What Is the Best Practical Scheme for Initiating Oral Anticoagulant Treatment in Outpatients with Atrial Fibrillation?....Pages 231-234
How Intense Should Anticoagulation Be at the Time of Cardioversion to Reduce the Risk of Thromboembolism?....Pages 235-239
Warfarin Underuse for Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation: How to Adjust Our Aims?....Pages 241-247
Front Matter....Pages 249-249
Palpitations of Unknown Origin: How Frequent are Supraventricular Arrhythmias?....Pages 251-256
Acute Termination of Atrial Flutter: Class III Drugs or Transesophageal Pacing?....Pages 257-262
Atrial Flutter Induced by Class IC Drugs/Amiodarone: What Are the Long-term Results of Cavo-tricuspidal Isthmus Ablation?....Pages 263-270
Non-Isthmus-Dependent Atrial Flutter: How to Locate and Ablate the Re-entry Circuit....Pages 271-284
Complex Supraventricular Tachycardia Ablation: What Is the Role of Alternative Technology?....Pages 285-291
Late Atrial Tachyarrhythmias After Repair of Congenital Heart Disease What is the Mechanism and How Can They Be Localized and Ablated?....Pages 293-300
Late Atrial Arrhythmias as a Complication After Valvular Heart Surgery: Is There A Place for Prevention?....Pages 301-305
Front Matter....Pages 307-307
Coffee Enhances Sympathetic Activity and Induces Cardiac Arrhythmias: True or False?....Pages 309-312
Front Matter....Pages 307-307
Is the Cause of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy Congenital or Acquired?....Pages 313-322
Is ICD Implantation Useful in Patients with Arrhythmogenic Right-ventricular Cardiomyopathy?....Pages 323-329
What is the Prevalence, Incidence and Prognostic Value of Brugada-type Electrocardiogram in the General Population?....Pages 331-334
Brugada Syndrome or Brugada Mimicry?....Pages 335-338
Ventricular Tachycardia or Conduction Disease: What Is the Mechanism of Death in Brugada Syndrome?....Pages 339-345
Idiopathic Ventricular Tachycardia: Is Radiofrequency Ablation the First Line Therapy?....Pages 347-355
Ventricular Tachycardia from the Aortic Cusps: Localization and Ablation....Pages 357-370
Extreme Left Vetricular Hypertrophy: An Indicator of Increased Risk of Sudden Death in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy....Pages 371-374
Does a Maximum Left Ventricular Thickness Greater than 30 mm Identify Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy at Risk of Sudden Death?....Pages 375-377
Drug-Induced Torsade de Pointes. Role of Genetic Factors....Pages 379-386
Identifying Patients at High Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death: Is Low Ejection Fraction Alone Enough, or Do We Need Additional Testing?....Pages 387-396
What Is The Prognostic Value of Non-Sustained Ventricular Tachycardia in Patients Without Severely Depressed Ejection Fraction After Myocardial Infarction?....Pages 397-403
Mechanical/Surgical Revascularization in Patients with Ventricular Fibrillation and Coronary Artery Disease: Is It Enough, or Do We Also Need an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator?....Pages 405-412
Surgical Revascularization in Patients with ”Ischemia-related” Ventricular Fibrillation: Is It Sufficient to Prevent Sudden Death?....Pages 413-414
New-onset Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias After Cardiac Surgery: Significance and Treatment....Pages 415-418
Electrophysiologically Guided Antiarrhythmic Surgery for Treatment of Frequently Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia: What Role Does It Have Today?....Pages 419-425
Heart Transplantation in Frequently Recurrent Drug-Refractory Tachyarrhythmias: is it Worthwhile?....Pages 427-432
Ablation of Unstable Ventricular Tachycardia....Pages 433-450
Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia: Can the Current Results be Improved Using Intracardiac Echocardiography?....Pages 451-459
Front Matter....Pages 461-461
Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Electrophysiologic Study in the Primary and Secondary ICD Trials....Pages 463-468
Front Matter....Pages 461-461
New Evidence from the Secondary Endpoints of the MADIT II Study....Pages 469-474
The Real Economic Impact of the MADIT-II Study on the European Medical Community....Pages 475-480
Post-infarction Patients with Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction of 30%-40%, Non-sustained Ventricular Tachycardia, and without Inducible Tachyarrhythmias: Is ICD Therapy Necessary?....Pages 481-487
Secondary Prevention of Sudden Death in Post-Infarction Patients: When is ICD Implantation Really Cost-Effective?....Pages 489-495
Primary Prevention of Sudden Death in Post-Infarction Patients: When ICD Implantation is Really Cost-effective....Pages 497-504
Cost-Effectiveness of ICD Implantation in Clinical Settings Different From Ischemic Heart Disease: What Do We Know?....Pages 505-510
Expanding ICD Indications: Can We Afford It?....Pages 511-517
Waveform Flexibility: The Present and Future Solution for Clinically Effective Defibrillation....Pages 519-526
Lessons from the Lower Energy Safety Study (LESS): Is One Ventricular Fibrillation Induction Adequate for ICD Implant?....Pages 527-533
Inappropriate Defibrillator Therapies: Do Dual-chamber Devices Really Provide a Remedy?....Pages 535-539
Should Antiarrhythmic Drugs Be Administered After First Appropriate ICD Shock, and If So, Which Ones?....Pages 541-545
Quality of Life in Patients with ICD: Is It Improved or Worsened?....Pages 547-552
Front Matter....Pages 553-553
Public Use of AEDs in Europe: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going?....Pages 555-561
Use of AEDs by Lay People in Patients with Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: How Does It Impact Survival?....Pages 563-568
In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Are We Well Enough Equipped and Prepared to Face It?....Pages 569-577
Mild Therapeutic Hypothermia for Treatment of Cardiac Arrest: Current Results and Future Perspectives....Pages 579-586
Front Matter....Pages 587-587
Distinguishing Syncope From Seizures: How Useful is the Clinical History?....Pages 589-593
Diagnosis of Neurally Mediated Syncope: Might Use of the Implantable Loop Recorder Replace the Tilt-table Test? A Positive View....Pages 595-598
Unexplained Syncope: Can We Predict the Outcome of Prolonged Monitoring with the Implantable Loop Recorder?....Pages 599-606
Patients with Structural Heart Disease, Syncope of Unknown Origin and Suspected Ventricular Tachycardia: ICD Implantation or “Wait and See” Strategy?....Pages 607-613
Front Matter....Pages 587-587
Vasovagal Syncope, Orthostatic Hypotension and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome: Is There a Connection?....Pages 615-624
Water Drinking to Prevent Orthostatic Hypotension and Neurally Mediated Syncope: Mechanisms and Benefits....Pages 625-631
Physical Counterpressure Maneuvers to Prevent and Abort Vasovagal Syncope: A Novel Effective Treatment?....Pages 633-639
Isometric Arm Contraction at the Onset of Prodromal Symptoms: a New First-line Treatment for Vasovagal Syncope?....Pages 641-650
To Pace or not to Pace for Neurally Mediated Syncope: Do We Know the Answer? A Positive View....Pages 651-654
To Pace or Not to Pace for Neurally Mediated Syncope: Do We Know the Answer? A Negative View....Pages 655-658
Patient-Activated Implantable Drug Pump for Treatment of Vasovagal Syncope: Is It Time for Clinical Use?....Pages 659-663
Front Matter....Pages 665-665
Genetics of Sinus Node Disease....Pages 667-677
Sleep Apnea: New Insights....Pages 679-684
Remodeling of Sinus Node Function Produced by Supraventricular Tachyarrhythmias: What Are the Clinical Implications?....Pages 685-690
Drug-Induced Bradycardia:When Is a Pacemaker Warranted?....Pages 691-696
Permanent Pacing Treatment: Conventional DDDR, Antitachycardia Pacing or Atrial Defibrillator?....Pages 697-702
Front Matter....Pages 703-703
Hemodynamic Assessment with Implantable Pacemakers How Feasible and Reliable Is It?....Pages 705-712
Hemodynamic Sensors: Their Impact in Clinical Practice....Pages 713-718
Haemodynamic Pacing: When Is It Selectively Indicated?....Pages 719-724
Can Hemodynamic Sensors Ensure Physiological Rate Control?....Pages 725-731
Transvalvular Impedance: Does It Allow Automatic Capture Detection?....Pages 733-739
What Are the Keys to Hemodynamic Improvement in Heart Failure Patients?....Pages 741-744
Atrioventricular Delay in Heart Failure Patients: How to Manage It....Pages 745-752
Cardiac Resynchronisation and Haemodynamic Monitoring: the Living-CHF Study....Pages 753-758
Front Matter....Pages 703-703
Heart Failure Therapy Driven by Implantable Sensors: What May We Expect?....Pages 759-764
Front Matter....Pages 765-765
Reverse Structural and Contractile Remodeling without Reverse Electrical Remodeling by Biventricular and Right Ventricular Apex Pacing in Dogs with Chronic AV Block....Pages 767-775
How Are Perfusion and Adrenergic Innervation of the Left Ventricle Affected in Paced Patients?....Pages 777-783
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: The Low Voltage Road or the High Voltage Road?....Pages 785-791
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: What Are the Benefits of Digital Pacemakers?....Pages 793-798
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: What Device Data Do We Need for Optimal Patient Treatment?....Pages 799-804
How to Identify Patients Most Likely to Respond to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy....Pages 805-813
Upgrading from Right Ventricular Apical Pacing to Biventricular Pacing....Pages 815-822
Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Are Results as Good as in Patients with Sinus Rhythm?....Pages 823-828
Patients with Heart Failure and Right Bundle Branch Block or Nonspecific Intraventricular Conduction Disturbances Can They Benefit from Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy?....Pages 829-835
Which Left Ventricular Stimulation Site Is Best for Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy?....Pages 837-841
Permanent His Bundle Pacing: A Good Unconventional Mode of Right Ventricular Pacing?....Pages 843-849
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: Is Atrial Resynchronization Important with Biventricular Pacing?....Pages 851-855
Impact of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy on Mortality: What Do We Expect from Ongoing Trials?....Pages 857-860
Companion Study: Rationale....Pages 861-864
Pharmacological Therapy in COMPANION Study: Compliance and Dosage....Pages 865-876
The Lesson from the COMPANION Study: How Large Is the Patient Population That May Benefit?....Pages 877-881
Front Matter....Pages 883-883
How to Detect and Manage Pacemaker/ICD Failure and Infections....Pages 885-896
Pacemaker/ICD Lead Extraction Using the Excimer Laser Sheath: What Are the Advantages and What Are the Risks?....Pages 897-902
How to Detect and Treat Superior Vena Cava Obstruction Caused by Multiple Pacing/ICD Leads?....Pages 903-908
Front Matter....Pages 883-883
Lead-Related Thrombi in Patients with Pacemaker/ICD: What Is the Prevalence, Clinical Significance, and Recommended Management?....Pages 909-910
Effects of Electromagnetic Interference on Implanted Cardiac Devices....Pages 911-918
Back Matter....Pages 919-921