Dear readers,

It is our 2-year anniversary this month, and we have some great articles for you! This month, EP Lab Digest interviews Dr. Jasbir Sra from St. Luke s Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Sra has been a pioneer in the research and development of treating atrial fibrillation, which affects more than 2 million people. In this interview, he discusses his work in India, including putting in the first programmable defibrillator there, as well as his advice for running a successful electrophysiology program.

We also feature an article on micro-dissection to treat occluded subclavian veins. Due to the increase in use of cardiac resynchronization therapy and AICD implantation, more patients with existing leads will present for AICD implantation or upgrade to a biventricular pacing system. Dr. Seth Worley and colleagues from the Lancaster Heart Foundation and Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, describe their use of the Frontrunner CTO for blunt micro-dissection of a vein along an existing pacing lead to facilitate placement of a resynchronization device without damage to the existing leads. They discuss that blunt micro-dissection looks promising as a routinely applied technique to open occluded subclavian veins.

Lastly, we pay tribute to Laura Cook, an EP lab nurse who will retire after more than 30 years in the EP field. Turn to page 28 to read more about her accomplishments at Duke University Health Systems in Durham, North Carolina.

Thanks for reading!

Jodie Miller
Managing Editor
eplabdigest@aol.com