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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The exact role of transoesphageal echo (TOE) prior to atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation remains unclear. This study examines the incidence and predictors of left atrial (LA) thrombus in patients undergoing AF ablation. ⋯ In patients presenting for AF ablation, LA thrombus is only seen in those with clinical risk factors. TOE is indicated in this group but may be unnecessary in patients without clinical risk factors.
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To assess the clinical presentation and acute management of patients with transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC) in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ Adherence to clinical guidelines for syncope management was low; many diagnostic tests were performed with low diagnostic yield. Important differences were observed between syncope diagnoses at the ED and by SC decision.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Intracardiac impedance monitors stroke volume in resynchronization therapy patients.
Monitoring of haemodynamic parameters or surrogate parameters of the left ventricle is especially important for patients under cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Intracardiac impedance reflects left ventricular (LV) volume changes well in animal models. Since it is unknown whether this also holds in humans with heart failure (HF), we examined the correlation of LV intracardiac impedance with haemodynamic parameters in CRT patients for different positions of the LV lead. ⋯ In HF patients, a strong correlation between changes in intracardiac impedance and LV SV was found. Typical LV lead implant positions have been tested and all appear to be suitable for this method of LV volume monitoring.