Trial reviews and live case presentations at Boston AF

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The first day of Boston AF (12 January 2012, Boston, Massachusetts, USA) was a mixture of best paper reviews and live case presentations.

In the morning session, Jose Jalife, Center for Arrhythmia Research, University of Michigan, USA, reviewed what he felt were the best basic science papers for atrial fibrillation in 2011. This was followed by a review by Eric Prystowsky, The Care Group, St Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, of the best clinical science papers in 2011. In his talk, he said that “a host” of interesting data had come out of the anticoagulation trials last year. He added that he was impressed with the ARISTOTLE study, which showed apixaban (Eliquis, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb) to reduce the risk of stroke and the risk of systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation compared with warfarin, and that he was looking forward to using the drug. Prystowsky also discussed the need for future research to focus on identifying patients who will benefit the most from catheter ablation.


In an afternoon session, Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, Center for Excellence in AF & EP Research, Bloch Heart Rhythm Centre, Mid America Cardiology, University of Kansas Hospitals, Kansas City, Kansas, USA, reviewed the data for the benefits of yoga in patients with atrial fibrillation. He explained that it had been shown to reduce symptoms and disease burden. The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to satellite case presentations, moderated by Jeremy Ruskin (the course director of the Boston AF symposium), with presentations by David Haines (William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA) and Karl-Heinz Kuck (Allgemeines Krankenhause, St Georg, Hamburg, Germany) among others.