A multicenter registry for the purpose of research collaboration of this rare disease was established, with the University of Michigan serving as the coordinating center for this study. This registry was © 2014 American Heart Association, Inc. Original Article Circ Arrhythm ElectrophysiolBackground-The purpose of this study was to assess whether delayed enhancement (DE) on MRI is associated with ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation or death in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis and left ventricular ejection fraction >35%. Methods and Results-Fifty-one patients with cardiac sarcoidosis and left ventricular ejection fraction >35% underwent DE-MRI. DE was assessed by visual scoring and quantified with the full-width at half-maximum method. The patients were followed for 48.0±20.2 months. Twenty-two of 51 patients (63%) had DE. Forty patients had no prior history of VT (primary prevention cohort). Among those, 3 patients developed VT and 2 patients died. DE was associated with risk of VT/ventricular fibrillation or death (P=0.0032 for any DE and P<0.0001 for right ventricular DE). The positive predictive values of the presence of any DE, multifocal DE, and right ventricular DE for death or VT/ventricular fibrillation at mean follow-up of 48 months were 22%, 48%, and 100%, respectively. Among the 11 patients with a history of VT before the MRI, 10 patients had subsequent VTs, 1 of whom died. approved by all institutional review boards with data use agreements in place. Using previously published criteria, 5,6 patients who met diagnostic criteria for CS were identified. Patients from the University of Michigan, Henry Ford Hospital, University of Colorado, Johns Hopkins University, and Virginia Commonwealth University were included. Medical records were reviewed to identify patients who had cardiac MRIs, a left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction >35%, and ≥6 months of follow-up. Stored electrograms documenting arrhythmia episodes were reviewed to confirm appropriateness of ICD therapies (antitachycardia pacing or ICD discharge). Electrocardiograms and stored electrograms were analyzed, and ventricular arrhythmias were classified as monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT), polymorphic VT, or ventricular fibrillation (VF). Ventricular arrhythmia in the non-ICD group was defined as cardiac arrest, VT lasting ≥30 seconds or requiring defibrillation. VT/VF storm was defined as ≥3 episodes of VT/VF in a 24-hour period. Conclusions-RV DE in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis is associated with a risk of adverse events in patients with Cardiac MRIAll patients underwent cardiac MRI, including cine imaging of cardiac morphology and function and DE-MRI. All studies were performed on 1.5 Tesla scanners (Signa Excite CV/i; General Electric; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Magnetom Sonata; Siemens Medical Solutions; Erlangen, Germany, Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands). Cine imaging was performed in ventricular short-and long-axis planes using a segmented 2D steady-statefree-precession pulse sequence (repetition time,...

Patients with CS and ICDs are at high risk for ventricular arrhythmias. This population also has high rates of inappropriate shocks and device complications.

In this retrospective study, patients with isolated CS had very high rates of appropriate ICD therapy. Prospective, long-term follow-up of consecutive patients with isolated CS is needed to determine the true natural history and rates of ventricular arrhythmias in this rare and difficult-to-diagnose disease.

Introduction Hospital readmission for congestive heart failure remains one of the most important economic burdens on healthcare cost. The implantation of a wireless pressure monitoring device (CardioMEMS®) had led to nearly 40% reduction in readmission rates in the landmark CHAMPION trial. We aim to study the effectiveness of this wireless device in reducing heart failure admissions in a real-world setting. Methods This is a retrospective chart review of patients with recurrent admissions for heart failure implanted with the wireless pressure monitoring system (CardioMEMS®) at our institution. We studied the total number of all-cause hospital admissions as well as heart failure-related admissions pre- and post-implantation. Results A total of 27 patients were followed for 6–18 months. The total number of all-cause hospital admissions prior to device implantation was 61 admissions for all study patients, while the total number for the post-implantation period was 19, correlating with 2.26 + 1.06 admissions/person-year prior to device implantation versus 0.70 + 0.95 admissions/person-year post-implantation (p-value < 0.001). For heart failure-related admissions, the total number prior to device implantation was 46 compared to 9 admissions post device implantations, correlating with 1.70 + 1.07 admissions/person-years pre-implantation versus 0.33 + 0.62 admissions/person-years post-implantation (p-value < 0.001). This translates to 80.4% and 68.9% reduction in heart failure and all-cause admissions, respectively. Conclusion In a real-world setting, the implantation of a wireless heart failure monitoring system in patients with heart failure and class III symptoms has resulted in 80.4% reduction in heart failure admissions and 69% reduction in all-cause admissions.