Which stories captured the attention of the electrophysiology community across 2023? Read our summary of the trending stories from across the Cardiac Rhythm News network throughout the year.
What were your highlights? Leave a reply in the comment box at the foot of the page with your comments.
HRS 2023: Late-breaking clinical trial results support PFA as treatment option for AF
Among a slew of new data on the safety and efficacy of pulsed field ablation (PFA) as a treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF) to have been released across 2023, May’s Heart Rhythm annual meeting (19–21 May, New Orleans, USA) saw a trio of studies contribute to the growing evidence for PFA as a treatment option. The data include long-term outcomes in patients with paroxysmal AF, the influence of atrial arrhythmia burden on quality of life in patients undergoing PFA, and real-world outcomes in patients with symptomatic AF.
EHRA 2023: Novel score predicts heart failure following AF ablation
At the annual congress of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA 2023, 16–18 April 2023, Barcelona, Spain), researchers presented details of a score based on four readily available clinical and imaging parameters which they reported is able to identify the heart failure patients who benefit most from AF ablation.
Biotronik receives CE mark for Amvia Sky and Edge devices
Among the device approvals to resonate with Cardiac Rhythm News readers in May was the announcement of CE mark for the Amvia Sky and Amvia Edge devices from Biotronik, described by the company as the world’s first pacemakers and CRT-Ps to be approved for left bundle branch pacing.
Medtronic receives CE mark for Aurora EV-ICD device
In February, Medtronic received CE mark for the Aurora extravascular implantable cardioverter-defibrillation (EV-ICD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) SureScan device and Epsila EV MRI Surescan defibrillation lead.
First patients treated in Omny-IRE clinical trial of Omnypulse catheter
September saw the announcement of the first cases performed using the investigational Omnypulse catheter (Biosense Webster) as part of the Omny-IRE clinical trial. The first procedures were performed by Mattias Duytschaever at AZ Sint-Jan Hospital (Brugge, Belgium).
Accelerated pacing benefits HFpEF patients with pacemakers
Among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and a pacemaker, treatment with a moderately accelerated, personalised pacing rate resulted in improved outcomes compared to the nominal setting of 60 beats per minute, results of the myPACE randomised trial, published in February, showed.
No difference in outcomes for AF patients undergoing LAAO and TAVI at the same time
At the TCT meeting in October (23–26 October, San Francisco, USA) Samir Kapadia (Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, USA) presented results from the WATCH TAVR trial, investigated patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing a transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) at the same time as a left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO). Patients had similar outcomes when compared to those getting TAVI in addition to medical therapy of blood thinners, Kapadia reported.
Large registry confirms promising safety performance for PFA
Analysis of outcomes of more than 17,000 patients undergoing PFA from the MANIFEST 17K registry, reinforce the safety profile of the Farapulse (Boston Scientific) system, investigators reported at the American Heart Association (AHA) 2023 Scientific Sessions (11–13 November, Philadelphia, USA), citing an overall major adverse event rate of less than 1%.
Results of the first randomised trial comparing PFA to thermal ablation for the treatment of paroxysmal AF—ADVENT—presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress (25–28 August, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) by Vivek Reddy (Icahn School of Medicine, New York, USA) showed that PFA is as safe and effective at 12 months.
AI model can allow for interpretation of ECGs as language
Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model for electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis that allows for the interpretation of ECGs as language.
