Introduction Atrial tachycardia/fibrillation (AT/AF) episodes are common in implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (ICD) recipients and can be undetected by standard single‐chamber devices. This study aims to explore whether a single‐lead ICD with an atrial dipole (ICD DX; BIOTRONIK SE & Co, Berlin, Germany) could improve the AT/AF diagnosis and management as compared to standard ICD (ICD VR). Methods and Results We selected patients without AT/AF history from the THINGS registry which included consecutive patients implanted with ICD for standard indications. The ICD VR and the ICD DX groups included 236 (62.8%) and 140 (37.2%) patients, respectively, and had no significant differences in baseline characteristics. During a median follow‐up of 27 months, there were 7 AT/AF diagnoses in the ICD VR and 18 in the ICD DX group. The 2‐year incidence of AT/AF diagnosis was 3.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6%‐9.6%) for the ICD VR and 11.4% (95% CI: 6.8%‐18.9%) for the ICD DX group (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 3.85 [95% CI: 1.58‐9.41]; P = .003). Initiation of oral anticoagulation (OAC) due to AT/AF diagnosis was reported in 15 patients. The 2‐year incidence of OAC onset was 3.6% (95% CI: 1.6%‐7.8%) for the ICD VR and 6.3% (95% CI: 3.0%‐12.7%) for ICD DX group (adjusted HR: 1.99 [95% CI: 0.72‐5.56]; P = .184). Conclusion We observed that atrial sensing capability in single‐chamber ICD patients without evidence of atrial arrhythmias at implant is associated with a greater likelihood of detecting AT/AF episodes. The management of these diagnosed arrhythmias often led to clinical interventions, mainly represented by initiation of OAC therapy.

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Patients with peripheral artery disease were mostly affected by severe metabolic diseases and by worst cardiac conditions; patients with asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms were of robust physique, and often had left ventricular anterior hemiblocks. Patients with critical carotid stenosis were older and had less cardiomyopathies.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Syncope Units (SUs) Activities in Italy. Methods: Data about types of SU activities and admissions were obtained from 10 SUs throughout Italy, certified by the Italian Multidisciplinary Working Group on Syncope (GIMSI), from 10 March 2020 to 31 December 2020 and compared with the same time frame in 2019. Results: A remarkable reduction in overall non-invasive diagnostic tests (−67%; p < 0.001) and cardiac invasive procedure. Elective cardiac pacing procedures disclosed a significant decrease (−62.7%; p < 0.001); conversely, the decrease of urgent procedures was not significant (−50%; p = 0.08). There was a significantly increased rate of patients who underwent both telemedicine follow-up visits (+225%, p < 0.001) and cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) remote monitoring follow-up visits (+100%; p < 0.001). Conclusion: The COVID-19 outbreak was associated with a remarkable decrease in all clinical activities of Syncope Units in Italy, including both non-invasive tests and cardiac invasive procedures; conversely, a significant increase in telehealth activities was shown.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are differences among clinical conditions and traditional atherosclerotic risk factors between patients with large abdominal aortic aneurysm and those with occlusive non-coronary arterial disease. Methods We clinically examined 519 patients with asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm and 672 with severe obstructive arterial diseases before surgical repair. Results In patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm, we identified a clear predominance of males ( p < 0.001), more alcohol consumers ( p < 0.05), higher values of diastolic blood pressure ( p < 0.05), higher values of serum creatinine ( p < 0.005), more hyperuricemic patients ( p < 0.005) and less diabetics ( p < 0.001). In patients with occlusive atherosclerotic vasculopathies, we observed more smokers ( p < 0.05), higher systolic blood pressure and more hypertensives ( p < 0.05 respectively) and a prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia ( p < 0.05). Conclusions Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm were mostly males with diastolic hypertension, impaired renal function and less diabetics, while patients with occlusive arteriopathy were more smokers, hypertensives and more hypertriglyceridemics.