Heart rhythm : the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society
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Review Meta Analysis
Inappropriate sinus tachycardia-symptom and heart rate reduction with ivabradine: A pooled analysis of prospective studies.
Inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) is debilitating despite available treatment. Off-label use of ivabradine for IST prompted this systematic analysis of existing data quality and sample size estimates for adequately powered studies. ⋯ Ivabradine effectively reduces heart rate and symptoms in IST, but no study was adequately powered to account for the expected placebo effect on symptoms. A multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, active, comparative study with a β-blocker is needed for confirmation. This is especially relevant given the ivabradine's potential teratogenic effect, as many IST patients are females of childbearing potential.
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During magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), abandoned leads may act as antennae that result in tissue heating and arrhythmia induction. ⋯ There was no evidence of myocardial injury as measured by paired cTnT. The risk of MRI with abandoned leads appears low, suggesting a favorable risk-benefit profile in patients with CIEDs and abandoned leads who are considered for MRI.
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Ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) of the right coronary cusp (RCC) are not fully characterized. ⋯ RCC-VAs are not uncommon and have unique electrocardiographic and electrophysiological characteristics that distinguish an RCC origin of VA from RVOT and LCC origins. Most RCC-VAs were ablated successfully in the anterior and upper aspects of the RCC.
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For patients with symptomatic, sustained atrial fibrillation (AF), a "pill-in-the-pocket" antiarrhythmic drug (PIP-AAD) strategy has been proposed to reduce emergency department (ED) use. ⋯ Out-of-hospital PIP-AAD can be an effective for highly selected patients; however, the rates of treatment failure and adverse events are clinically relevant, which limits the widespread application of a PIP-AAD approach.
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Review Meta Analysis
An updated meta-analysis of novel oral anticoagulants versus vitamin K antagonists for uninterrupted anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation catheter ablation.
Catheter ablation is recommended as a first- or second-line rhythm control therapy for selected patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). There is a wide variability in the periprocedural management of oral anticoagulation in patients undergoing AF ablation. ⋯ In patients undergoing AF ablation, uninterrupted periprocedural NOACs are associated with a low incidence of stroke or TIA and a significant reduction in major bleeding as compared with uninterrupted VKAs.