Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Chang-Hao Xu, Feng Xiong, Wei-Feng Jiang, Xu Liu, Tao Liu, Mu Qin
Summary: Despite significant progress in understanding atrial fibrillation, there are still challenges in its treatment. The review focuses on the rotor mechanism and compares recent clinical approaches to identifying rotors. Though initial studies have shown promising results in rotor ablation, there are some inconclusive outcomes. Hence, there is a need to improve the resolution of mapping techniques and address limitations in current research methodology.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Xiaofeng Hu, Weifeng Jiang, Shaohui Wu, Kai Xu, Daoliang Zhang, Yu Zhang, Xu Liu, Mu Qin
Summary: Obesity is associated with increased complexity of driver regions in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation. Driver ablation treatment leads to better long-term outcomes compared to conventional ablation in obese patients.
Article
Physiology
Chiara Bartolucci, Claudio Fabbri, Corrado Tomasi, Paolo Sabbatani, Stefano Severi, Cristiana Corsi
Summary: This study proposed a tool for testing the ability of different catheter shapes to detect rotors in different conditions. Results showed that all configurations detected the rotor correctly when in contact with the atrial wall and at 1 mm distance from it, regardless of geometry, coverage, and inter-electrode distance. The developed computational framework is well suited to investigate how mapping catheter geometry and location affect AF driver detection, making it a reliable tool for designing and testing new mapping catheters.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Gregory F. Michaud, William G. Stevenson
Summary: A 63-year-old healthy male with atrial fibrillation presents with symptoms of dyspnea and irregular heartbeat. Physical examination reveals high blood pressure, irregular pulse, and ECG confirms atrial fibrillation. Further evaluation and treatment plan are needed.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2021)
Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
Isaac W. Leon-acuna, Takeki Suzuki
Summary: Andrade et al. found that initial catheter cryoballoon ablation strategy resulted in lower incidence of persistent atrial fibrillation and lower arrhythmia burden compared to antiarrhythmic drug therapy in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation during 3 years of follow-up. The study builds upon the findings of the EARLY-AF trial and the STOP AF First trial. Due to the relatively small sample size (303 patients) and short follow-up period, it may be difficult to detect mortality benefits of cryoballoon ablation.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Florian Baptiste, Jerome Kalifa, Cyril Durand, Edouard Gitenay, Michel Bremondy, Anis Ayari, Nicolas Maillot, Antonio Taormina, Aicha Fofana, Guillaume Penaranda, Sabrina Siame, Clement Bars, Julien Seitz
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and electrophysiological characteristics of atrial fibrillation (AF) drivers arising from the right atrial appendage (RAA). The results showed that 7% of patients had RAA drivers, which were associated with the termination of AF.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Oussama M. Wazni, Gopi Dandamudi, Nitesh Sood, Robert Hoyt, Jaret Tyler, Sarfraz Durrani, Mark Niebauer, Kevin Makati, Blair Halperin, Andre Gauri, Gustavo Morales, Mingyuan Shao, Jeffrey Cerkvenik, Rachelle E. Kaplon, Steven E. Nissen
Summary: In this multicenter trial, cryoballoon ablation as initial therapy was found to be superior to drug therapy in preventing atrial arrhythmia recurrence in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Serious procedure-related adverse events were uncommon.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
J. G. Andrade, M. W. Deyell, L. Macle, G. A. Wells, M. Bennett, V Essebag, J-F Roux, D. Yung, A. Skanes, Y. Khaykin, C. Morillo, U. Jolly, P. Novak, E. Lockwood, G. Amit, P. Angaran, J. Sapp, S. Wardell, S. Lauck, J. Cadrin-Tourigny, S. Kochhaeuser, A. Verma
Summary: This study evaluated the treatment effect of catheter cryoballoon ablation versus antiarrhythmic drug therapy for initial paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The results showed that in the 3-year follow-up period, the catheter ablation group had a lower incidence of persistent atrial fibrillation and recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmia compared to the drug therapy group. Additionally, the proportion of time in atrial fibrillation was also lower in the ablation group. Therefore, catheter ablation is recommended as the initial treatment for initial paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Jason G. Andrade, Oussama M. Wazni, Malte Kuniss, Nathaniel M. Hawkins, Marc W. Deyell, Gian-Battista Chierchia, Steven Nissen, Atul Verma, George A. Wells, Ricky D. Turgeon
Summary: Cryoballoon catheter ablation has been shown to significantly improve arrhythmia outcomes, produce clinically meaningful improvements in patient-reported outcomes, reduce subsequent health care resource use, and not increase the risk of serious adverse events compared with initial antiarrhythmic drug therapy in patients with treatment-naive AF.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Tiago P. Almeida, Diogo C. Soriano, Michela Mase, Flavia Ravelli, Arthur S. Bezerra, Xin Li, Gavin S. Chu, Joao Salinet, Peter J. Stafford, G. Andre Ng, Fernando S. Schlindwein, Takashi Yoneyama
Summary: Utilizing unsupervised classification and AEG-derived markers, five distinct classes of AEGs were identified with significant differences in characteristics, potentially offering a more comprehensive substrate characterization for ablation target identification in future clinical studies.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Stefan Hartl, Hisaki Makimoto, Shqipe Gerguri, Lukas Clasen, Sophia Kluge, Christoph Brinkmeyer, Jan Schmidt, Obaida Rana, Malte Kelm, Alexandru Bejinariu
Summary: Re-PVI using WACA and HDM is an effective approach for treating recurrent atrial fibrillation, and can improve arrhythmia-free survival compared to conventional re-PVI.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Taiyuan Huang, Juan Chen, Bjoern Mueller-Edenborn, Louisa Mayer, Martin Eichenlaub, Zoraida Moreno Weidmann, Juergen Allgeier, Marius Bohnen, Heiko Lehrmann, Dietmar Trenk, Simon Schoechlin, Dirk Westermann, Thomas Arentz, Amir Jadidi
Summary: This study evaluated the spatial correlation between low-voltage substrate and fractionated potentials in both sinus rhythm (SR) and atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with persistent AF. The results showed that PFP-SR were mainly located within low-voltage areas, and PFPs were more frequent in AF. The distribution and correlation of PFP and CFP with LVA were different in SR and AF, which should be considered in substrate-based ablation strategies.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Yu-Chuan Wang, Li-Bin Shi, Song-Yun Chu, Eivind Solheim, Peter Schuster, Jian Chen
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of fractionated potentials (FPs) in non-macroreentrant atrial tachycardia (nAT) and introduce a new method of cross-mapping for clarifying their roles. The ratio of FP duration to AT cycle length was different among nAT groups, with a simple cross-mapping method employed to determine FPs responsible for particular patterns. Results showed that FPs could be found on target in most nAT cases following previous AF ablation, with potential implications for differentiation and ablation strategies.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Fabien Squara, Didier Scarlatti, Sok-Sithikun Bun, Pamela Moceri, Emile Ferrari, Olivier Meste, Vicente Zarzoso
Summary: This study found that Fibrillatory Wave Amplitude (FWA) is unrelated to the complexity of atrial fibrillation (AF) but is mainly determined by the amount of viable atrial myocytes. Therefore, FWA should only be referred as a marker of atrial tissue pathology.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Leonard Bergau, Philipp Bengel, Vanessa Sciacca, Thomas Fink, Christian Sohns, Philipp Sommer
Summary: Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia worldwide and is strongly associated with heart failure. Two therapeutic strategies, rhythm control and rate control, are accepted as the standard of care in AF patients with heart failure. Recent important studies have investigated the optimal therapeutic strategy in HF patients.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Pedro L. Valenzuela, Alejandro Santos-Lozano, Javier S. Morales, Susana Lopez-Ortiz, Jose Pinto-Fraga, Adrian Castillo-Garcia, Juan Martin-Hernandez, Julian P. Villacastin, Araceli Boraita, Alejandro Lucia
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGY
(2021)
Letter
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Ricardo Salgado Aranda, Nicasio Perez Castellano, Oscar Cano Perez, Andres Ignacio Bodegas Canas, Manuel Frutos Lopez, Julian Perez-Villacastin Dominguez
REVISTA ESPANOLA DE CARDIOLOGIA
(2021)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Giulio La Rosa, Jorge G. Quintanilla, Ricardo Salgado, Juan Jose Gonzalez-Ferrer, Victoria Canadas-Godoy, Julian Perez-Villacastin, Jose Jalife, Nicasio Perez-Castellano, David Filgueiras-Rama
Summary: Anatomical-based approaches, including pulmonary vein isolation, are commonly used in ablation treatments for atrial fibrillation patients. In addition to PVI, electrical isolation of extra PV targets has also increased. New technologies such as cryoballoon ablation have shown promising results in treating paroxysmal AF.
PACE-PACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Paloma Nieto-Marin, David Tinaquero, Raquel G. Utrilla, Jorge Cebrian, Andres Gonzalez-Guerra, Teresa Crespo-Garcia, Anabel Camara-Checa, Marcos Rubio-Alarcon, Maria Dago, Silvia Alfayate, David Filgueiras, Rafael Peinado, Jose Luis Lopez-Sendon, Jose Jalife, Juan Tamargo, Juan Antonio Bernal, Ricardo Caballero, Eva Delpon
Summary: TBX5 variants identified in this study are associated with and modulate the electrical phenotype in patients with LQTS and BrS, highlighting their impact on cardiac conduction and action potentials.
CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Alvaro Macias, J. Jaime Diaz-Larrosa, Yaazan Blanco, Victor Fanjul, Cristina Gonzalez-Gomez, Pilar Gonzalo, Maria Jesus Andres-Manzano, Andre Monteiro da Rocha, Daniela Ponce-Balbuena, Andrew Allan, David Filgueiras-Rama, Jose Jalife, Vicente Andres
Summary: This study found that heart tissue from Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) patients has structural and electrophysiological defects, including disruption of the t-tubular system, shortened sarcomeres, bradycardia, and atrio-ventricular conduction abnormalities. Chronic treatment with low-dose paclitaxel partially corrected these abnormalities.
CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Ricardo Salgado-Aranda, Nicasio Perez-Castellano, Ivan Nunez-Gil, A. Josue Orozco, Norberto Torres-Esquivel, Jesus Flores-Soler, Ahmed Chamaisse-Akari, Angela Mclnerney, Carlos Vergara-Uzcategui, Lin Wang, Juan J. Gonzalez-Ferrer, David Filgueiras-Rama, Victoria Canadas-Godoy, Carlos Macaya-Miguel, Julian Perez-Villacastin
Summary: A sedentary lifestyle at baseline increases the mortality of hospitalized patients with COVID-19, independently of other risk factors. This finding may be useful in preventing severe COVID-19 disease.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND THERAPY
(2021)
Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
F. J. Elola-Somoza, M. C. Bas-Villalobos, J. Perez-Villacastin, C. Macaya-Miguel
REVISTA CLINICA ESPANOLA
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Eduardo Pozo Osinalde, Alejandra Salinas Gallegos, Ximena Gordillo, Luis Nombela Franco, Pedro Marcos-Alberca, Patricia Mahia, Gabriela Tirado-Conte, Jose Juan Gomez de Diego, Pilar Jimenez Quevedo, Antonio Fernandez-Ortiz, Julian Perez-Villacastin, Jose Alberto de Agustin Loeches
Summary: This study evaluated the predictive value of different MR parameters from intraprocedural transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) for grading in consecutive transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) during the follow up. The study found that the maximum and additive VC were the most reliable parameters for predicting persistence of significant insufficiency.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Francesco Santoro, Ivan J. Nunez-Gil, Enrica Vitale, Maria C. Viana-Llamas, Rodolfo Romero, Charbel Maroun Eid, Gisela Feltes Guzman, Victor Manuel Becerra-Munoz, Inmaculada Fernandez Rozas, Aitor Uribarri, Emilio Alfonso-Rodriguez, Marcos Garcia Aguado, Jia Huang, Alex Fernando Castro Mejia, Juan Fortunato Garcia Prieto, Javier Elola, Fabrizio Ugo, Enrico Cerrato, Jaime Signes-Costa, Sergio Raposeiras Roubin, Jorge Luis Jativa Mendez, Carolina Espejo Paeres, Alvaro Lopez Masjuan, Francisco Marin, Federico Guerra, Ibrahim El-Battrawy, Bernardo Cortese, Harish Ramakrishna, Julian Perez-Villacastin, Antonio Fernandez-Ortiz, Natale Daniele Brunetti
Summary: This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of adding aspirin to prophylactic anticoagulation therapy for patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The results demonstrate that combination therapy of prophylactic anticoagulation and aspirin is associated with lower in-hospital mortality risk compared to prophylactic anticoagulation alone.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
David Vivas, Jose Julio Jimenez, Roberto Martin-Asenjo, Esther Bernardo, Maria Aranzazu Ortega-Pozzi, Juan Carlos Gomez-Polo, Guillermo Moreno, Isidre Vilacosta, Julian Perez-Villacastin, Antonio Fernandez-Ortiz
Summary: Prasugrel and ticagrelor are more effective than aspirin in reducing cardiovascular events in acute coronary syndrome patients. Intravenous lysine acetylsalicylate (LA) achieves faster and more consistent platelet inhibition compared to oral aspirin. However, there is a lack of data on its effects in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).
JOURNAL OF THROMBOSIS AND THROMBOLYSIS
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Ivan J. Nunez-Gil, Gisela Feltes, Maria C. Viana-Llamas, Sergio Raposeiras-Roubin, Rodolfo Romero, Emilio Alfonso-Rodriguez, Aitor Uribarri, Francesco Santoro, Victor Becerra-Munoz, Martino Pepe, Alex F. Castro-Mejia, Jaime Signes-Costa, Adelina Gonzalez, Francisco Marin, Javier Lopez-Pais, Enrico Cerrato, Olalla Vazquez-Cancela, Carolina Espejo-Paeres, Alvaro Lopez Masjuan, Lazar Velicki, Ibrahim El-Battrawy, Harish Ramakrishna, Antonio Fernandez-Ortiz, Julian Perez-Villacastin
Summary: This study analyzed the long-term outcomes and prognostic factors of COVID-19 survivors and found that patients with underlying heart disease continue to face a more complex clinical profile and worse outcomes, including increased mortality. Vaccination was found to be beneficial for the survival of patients with heart disease during follow-up.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Christian Bengoa Terrero, Marian Bas Villalobos, Ana Pastor Rodriguez-Monino, Maria Dolores Lasheras Carbajo, Julian Perez-Villacastin, Cristina Fernandez Perez, Maria Jesus Garcia Torrent, Rafael Sanchez-del-Hoyo, Alberto Garcia Lledo
Summary: This study conducted an influenza vaccination campaign in 42 primary care centers, where for every healthcare worker vaccinated against influenza, a polio vaccine is donated to children in developing nations. The results show that this campaign can effectively increase the vaccination uptake in healthcare workers and has a low cost of operation.
Editorial Material
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
David Filgueiras-Rama, Alba Ramos-Prada, Matthijs J. M. Cluitmans