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In an effort to develop an Electrophysiology program that offers the highest possible level of care to our arrhythmia patients, The Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital is dedicated to investigating new ablation technologies and techniques. For years, we have found the three-dimensional (3-D) mapping and navigation capabilities of the EnSite^® System (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, Minnesota) quite useful for facilitating ablation of complex arrhythmias in the EP lab.

New guidelines on ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death were recently released by the main cardiology organizations in the US and Europe; these updated recommendations provide consensus on the management, treatment, and prevention of these heart-related conditions. In this feature interview, we speak with Dwight W. Reynolds, MD, FHRS, and President of the Heart Rhythm Society, about how the guidelines have changed. Dr. Reynolds is also a professor and chief of cardiology at The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in Oklahoma City. 

Over 450,000 deaths related to arrhythmia occur annually.¹ An alarming 80% of sudden death cases occur out of the hospital, and despite improvements in resuscitation methods, community awareness, and availability of automatic external defibrillators, very few survive the arrest.^2,3

Mathias Stoenescu, MD, is the Director of the Heart Rhythm Program at the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center, University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut.

The Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship program at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Sibley Heart Center and Emory University School of Medicine has established itself as one of the best and fastest-growing programs in the country. Their successful program provides extensive training in electrophysiology.

Once again, the year 2006 proved to be a banner year for electrophysiology — new technologies were developed to make old procedures safer, exciting discoveries are pushing us closer to unlocking the secrets to curing atrial fibrillation, and molecular biology is yielding greater understanding into arrhythmias. In this article, we will highlight just a few of these interesting new findings.