Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure was associated with a significantly lower rate of a composite end point of death from any cause or hospitalization for worsening heart failure than was medical therapy. (Funded by Biotronik; CASTLE-AF ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00643188 .).

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Balloon cryoablation of the pulmonary veins with additional segmental isolation if necessary, is a good approach for patients presenting with paroxysmal AF, showing a significant reduction in AF burden after a single procedure. The major complication seems to be phrenic nerve paralysis after ablation of the right superior PV, but this is potentially reversible over several months.

Partners experienced similar levels of depression but higher levels of anxiety compared with ICD patients. Personality was an important explanatory factor of distress in both ICD patients and their partners. Research is now warranted to investigate the implications of this finding for the clinical course of ICD patients, as Type D personality has been associated with adverse prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease.

Background-A rapidly growing number of long-QT syndrome (LQTS) patients are being treated with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). ICDs may pose problems, especially in the young. We sought to determine the characteristics of the LQTS patients receiving an ICD, the indications, and the aftermath. Methods and Results-The study population included 233 patients. Beginning in 2002, data were collected prospectively.Female patients (77%) and LQT3 patients (22% of genotype positive) were overrepresented; mean QTc was 516Ϯ65 milliseconds; mean age at implantation was 30Ϯ17 years; and genotype was known in 59% of patients. Unexpectedly, 9% of patients were asymptomatic before implantation. Asymptomatic patients, almost absent among LQT1 and LQT2 patients, represented 45% of LQT3 patients. Patients with cardiac symptoms made up 91% of all study participants, but only 44% had cardiac arrest before ICD implantation. In addition, 41% of patients received an ICD without having first been on LQTS therapy. During follow-up, 4.6Ϯ3.2 years, at least 1 appropriate shock was received by 28% of patients, and adverse events occurred in 25%. Appropriate ICD therapies were predicted by age Ͻ20 years at implantation, a QTc Ͼ500 milliseconds, prior cardiac arrest, and cardiac events despite therapy; within 7 years, appropriate shocks occurred in no patients with none of these factors and in 70% of those with all factors. Conclusions-Reflecting previous concepts, ICDs were implanted in some LQTS patients whose high risk now appears questionable. Refined criteria for implantation, reassessment of pros and cons, ICD reprogramming, and consideration for other existing therapeutic options are necessary. (Circulation. 2010;122:1272-1282.)

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P atients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are at increased risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD), mostly caused by ventricular arrhythmias. SCD may occur as the initial presentation of HCM, often in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients. 1 In fact, HCM is the most frequent cause of SCD in young people, including trained athletes. 2,3 Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy may effectively terminate potentially life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, thereby preventing SCD and prolonging life. Still, ICD therapy is not without risk, because inappropriate interventions and device-related complications may occur. Clinical Perspective on p 559Previous observational studies have reported on the use of ICD therapy for primary and secondary preventions of SCD in HCM. A complete overview of outcome and complications after ICD therapy in patients with HCM at risk for SCD is currently not available. The goal of this analysis was to pool the individual studies in an effort to examine the precise rate of cardiac and noncardiac mortality, appropriate and inappropriate interventions, and complications. This knowledge may aid clinical decision making and counseling in patients with HCM at increased risk for SCD considered for ICD therapy. Methods Study DesignThis systematic review and meta-analysis included all available original studies reporting clinical outcome and complications in patients with HCM who underwent ICD implantation. Studies that did not provide data on outcome or complications and review manuscripts were excluded. Studies focussing on SCD in patients with HCM without ICD were excluded. Literature SearchThe online MEDLINE database was searched for literature in Background-Previous observational studies demonstrated that patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD) may benefit from implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy. A complete overview of outcome and complications after ICD therapy is currently not available. This study pools data from published studies on outcome and complications after ICD therapy in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Methods and Results-A PubMed database search returned 27 studies on 16 cohorts reporting outcome and complications after ICD therapy in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In case of >1 publications on a particular cohort, the publication with the largest number of patients was included in the meta-analysis. ICD interventions, complications, and mortality rates were extracted, pooled, and analyzed. There were 2190 patients (mean age, 42 years; 38% women), most of whom (83%) received an ICD for primary prevention of SCD. Risk factors for SCD were left ventricular wall thickness ≥30 mm (20%), family history of SCD (43%), nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (46%), syncope (41%), and abnormal blood pressure response (25%). During the 3.7-year follow-up, the annualized cardiac mortality rate was 0.6%, the noncardiac mortality rate was 0.4%, and the appropriate ICD intervention rate was 3...

This study demonstrates that the S-ICD is effective in terminating ventricular arrhythmias. There is, however, a considerable percentage of ICD related adverse events, which decreases as the therapy evolves and experience increases.