This case demonstrates the use of radiofrequency ablation. The authors describe the potentials of this novel technology which combines the guidance of a wire tip with the capability of radiofrequency ablation.

It has been another busy month for the email discussion group! Many of you have sent in new questions and responses — please take a look and see what you can help with. If you would like to respond to these questions, please email us at eplabdigest@hotmail.com or go to www.eplabdigest.com and click on the email discussion group link. Our website is constantly being updated, so please check back often!

Dr. Bobby Smith is an electrophysiologist at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. In this interview, he describes two cases that took place as part of a live webcast on July 20, 2005.

The use of biventricular pacing has gained wide acceptance in the management of adult patients with ventricular dysynchrony and cardiac dysfunction. A number of randomized trials have demonstrated improvements in symptoms, heart failure hospitalizations and survival.^1,2 However, as with many clinical advances, transitioning this treatment modality to pediatric patients has been a slower process.

Whether you’re new to device therapy or have been seeing pacemaker and ICD patients for a while, you will encounter puzzling rhythm strips. One of the biggest areas for confusion involves phenomena that have been named "fusion" and "pseudofusion" (there’s even something called pseudo-pseudofusion, but that’s another article). The problem with fusion and pseudofusion is that they appear on the surface ECG in such a way that it is often unclear whether you’re dealing with a sensing problem, a capture problem, or just normal device behavior.

When the 60-bed, 127,000-square-foot Wisconsin Heart Hospital opened its doors in early 2004, it was widely thought to serve as a national model in cardiac care.