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Catheter ablation in Latin America can be considered effective and safe.

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Pacemakers are used in small children with increasing frequency for the treatment of life-threatening bradyarrhythmias. The epicardial approach is generally preferred in these patients, to avoid the risks of vessel thrombosis. We examined the feasibility and safety of transvenous pacemaker implantation in children weighing <10 kg, via subclavian puncture, using a 4 Fr sheath introduced after a venogram was performed to evaluate the vein diameter. Progressive dilation with 5, 6, and 7 Fr sheaths preceded the insertion and placement of the endocardial lead. A subaponeurotic pocket was created in the abdominal or pectoral regions, depending upon the patient's size. Between 2001 and 2007, we treated 12 patients (median age = 16 months; range 1-32; median weight = 7.9 kg; range 2.3-10.0; 7 males), of whom four weighed <5 kg. Indications for permanent pacing included postsurgical complete atrioventricular block (n = 8), sinus node dysfunction (n = 2), congenital atrioventricular block (n = 1), and long QT syndrome (n = 1). Single-chamber pacemakers were implanted in 10, and dual-chamber pacemakers in two patients. The patients were evaluated at 48 hours, 10 days, and at 3 and 6 months. The mean follow-up was 31.8 +/- 23.5 months. There were no procedural complications. Lead dislodgment occurred in one patient and required replacement of the ventricular lead. One patient died from septicemia. Endocardial pacemaker implantation was feasible and safe in children weighing <10 kg. This procedure is less invasive than the standard epicardial approach.

The categorization for our consensus document should not be considered directly similar to the one used for official society guideline recommendations, which apply a classification (I-III) and level of evidence (A, B, and C) to recommendations.

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Knowing the real impact of atrial fibrillation in the stroke, the Sociedad Mexicana of Electrofisiología y Estimulación Cardiaca (SOMEEC) had the initiative to develop a multidisciplinary meeting of experts the with the purpose to update the available scientific evidence from clinical practice guidelines, meta-analyses, controlled clinical trials, and complementing with the experience and views of a group of experts. To meet this goal, SOMEEC gathered a group of specialists in the area of cardiology, electrophysiology, neurology and hematology that given their experience in certain areas, they share the scientific evidence with the panel of experts to leave open a discussion about the information presented in this article. This document brings together the best scientific evidence available and aims to be a useful tool in the decision to use of new oral anticoagulants in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and ischemic heart disease, or relating to the management of patients with stroke or renal failure, and even those that will be submitted to elective surgery and invasive procedures. In the same, they handled comparative schemes of follow-up and treatment which simplifies the decision making by the specialists participants.