3 (May/June)
Transthoracic Biphasic Defibrillation: The Case for Non-Escalating Energy Protocols
- Sat, 5/3/08 - 1:34pm
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- 2899 reads
The overwhelming clinical benefit of defibrillation as a treatment for ventricular fibrillation is so obvious that, in the past, any technological design differences among manufacturers and models has perhaps been assumed to be inconsequential.
A substantial shift in the technology of more recently developed external defibrillators has led to speculation regarding the comparative clinical effectiveness of competing models and the questioning of the adequacy of some. Defibrillators whose electronics are based upon a biphasic waveform, as opposed to the monophasic waveforms that characterized earlier models, are rapidly becoming dominant in the marketplace.
Device-Based AF Suppression
- Sat, 5/3/08 - 1:34pm
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- 1389 reads
In the past, there have been very few ways from a device-based perspective for physicians to manage pacemaker patients suffering from atrial fibrillation (AF). While the introduction of mode switching into pacemakers was a major improvement, it still left the patient and physician dealing with the resultant effects of AF (as mode switching doesn t treat atrial arrhythmias per se).
More recently, the use of standard, high-rate atrial pacing to reduce AF episodes has been shown to be beneficial.1,2 However, high-rate atrial pacing has its own drawbacks as well, i.e., patient discomfort and possible ventricular dysfunction over time.
EP Lab Digest Presents its First Regional Electrophysiology 2002 is a Success!
- Sat, 5/3/08 - 1:34pm
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- 1032 reads
At the Philadelphia Airport Hilton on Saturday, April 27, 2002, HMP Communications, the publisher of EP Lab Digest, launched the first in a series of four 2002 educational regional electrophysiology meetings. This first EP meeting, by all accounts, was an overwhelming success among the attendees and sponsors.
Spotlight InterviewRiverside Methodist Hospital
- Sat, 5/3/08 - 1:34pm
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- 1841 reads
Riverside Methodist Hosp-ital, a 1,063-bed, private, not-for-profit hospital is a central Ohio health care leader. In 1999, Riverside ranked fifth in the United States for its number of patient admissions. Riverside remains the Columbus area market leader for Heart Services, Orthopedics and Maternity Services. The Arrhythmia Services Department at Riverside is the busiest and one of the most highly regarded EP programs in the country, offering state-of-the-art technology to address the needs of patients with heart rhythm abnormalities.
What is the size of your EP lab facility and number
of staff members? What is the mix of credentials at your lab?
The Daily Use of Disposable Acoustic Diaphragms Prevents Costly Cross-Contamination, Nosocomial Infections and Medical Legal Pro
- Sat, 5/3/08 - 1:34pm
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- 1508 reads
The sudden awareness of what could have happened still makes me feel very uncomfortable.
The patient that I was about to examine, had just come out of the operating room, still on a respirator, after a successful coronary artery bypass grafting operation otherwise a young, healthy-looking man in his mid forties, no different from the thousands who undergo similar procedures in the world every day. However, this time was different, because the previous patient that I had just examined had pneumonia, purulent sputum, chills, fever, leukocytosis, etc.; the patient was a teaching case for third-year medical students during their Infectious Diseases rotation. I was expected to check the position of the endotracheal tube after the transferring from the OR to ICU a common procedure done daily but to do so, I had to use my stethoscope, the very same one that I had just used on the man with pneumonia! This man s sternum had just been closed, barely less than an hour before.
The Clinical Connection: How a Doctor's Idea Becomes a Product
- Sat, 5/3/08 - 1:34pm
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- 1457 reads
Electrophysiology (EP) is one of the most rapidly developing fields in medicine today. One of the reasons is the continuing development of advanced products that substantially improve the lives of both clinicians and patients. In the midst of this rapid development, it is tempting to ask: Where do all these product ideas come from? Interestingly enough, many of them come from you, the practitioners in the field.
The inspiration for a great new EP product often comes from a clinician struggling to solve a recurrent problem in his or her own practice. Sometimes the clinician identifies a clinical need for which there is currently no solution. On other occasions, the clinician recognizes a need and also develops an idea for a product to fulfill the need.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy for Treatment of Chronic Heart FailureCardiac resynchronization therapy by means of bivent
- Sat, 5/3/08 - 1:34pm
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- 1890 reads
Progression of congestive heart failure (CHF), although somewhat slowed by recent therapeutic developments, continues to be a growing problem among men and women age 50-80 years. It afflicts 2-4 million people in the United States and nearly 15 million people worldwide.1-3 There are currently 400,000-700,000 new cases per year. Recent therapeutic advances, such as the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE inhibitors), 4 beta blockers, 5 hydralazine in combination with nitrates6 and spironolactone, 7 have resulted in decreased mortality rates in patients with CHF. 4-7 Despite these pharmacological advances, the true impact of newer innovations in device-based therapy remains to be determined. The overall long-term prognosis and quality of life are still limited in patients with moderate to severe heart failure. Therefore, device-based therapy has been considered in the treatment equation.
