Cardiac arrhythmias 1995 : proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Cardiac Arrhythmias: (Venice, 6-8 October 1995)

The subject of cardiac arrhythmias is of practical relevance. Various arrhythmias are found in different clinical situations, such as premature complexes in healthy individuals, supraventricular tachyarrhythmias in patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White snydrome, atrioventricular block, and ventricular fibrillation in cardiopathic conditions, especially in patients with ischemic disease. Topics of major interest are discussed in this volume: malignant ventricular arrhythmias, sudden death, automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators, syncope, current indications for pacing therapy, radiofrequency catheter ablation, flutter, and atrial fibrillation. Front Matter....Pages II-VIII Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Non-sustained Ventricular Tachycardia: Is It Possible to Identify the High-Risk Patients and How to Treat Them?....Pages 3-5 QT Prolongation in Postinfarction Patients and Sudden Death: Which Relationship?....Pages 6-11 T wave Alternans. A Marker of Vulnerability to Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias....Pages 12-16 Idiopathic Ventricular Fibrillation: Which Prognosis and Treatment?....Pages 17-22 Beta Blockers, Sotalol, or Amiodarone for the Treatment of Malignant Ventricular Arrhythmias?....Pages 23-30 New Antiarrhythmic Drugs for Ventricular Arrhythmias: Do They Work....Pages 31-38 What Have We Learned from the SWORD Trial? Can Potassium Channel Blockers Reduce Sudden Cardiac Death?....Pages 39-42 To Treat or Not To Treat Ventricular Arrhythmias in Dilated Cardiomyopathy?....Pages 43-49 Which Therapeutic Approach for Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Ventricular Arrhythmias?....Pages 50-54 Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia in Patients with Structural Heart Disease: Pathophysiologic Considerations to Simplify the Selection of the Target Sites....Pages 55-64 Front Matter....Pages 65-65 Is Total Mortality Really Reduced by the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator?....Pages 67-70 What Are the Acute and Long-Term Results of Transvenous Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators?....Pages 71-74 How To Prevent or Avoid Inappropriate Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Shocks?....Pages 75-80 What Have We Learned from Stored Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Electrocardiograms about the Mechanism of Sudden Death?....Pages 81-85 Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator: A Therapy for Everyone or for Selected Patients?....Pages 86-90 Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Technology in the Next 10 Years: What Can Be Expected?....Pages 91-95 Front Matter....Pages 97-97 Spontaneous Asystolic Pauses: How Frequent Is a Neuromediated Mechanism?....Pages 99-101 Pathophysiology of Neurally Mediated Syncope: Peripheral and Central Mechanisms....Pages 102-109 Syncope of Unknown Origin: First Head-Up Tilt Test or Electrophysiologic Study?....Pages 110-115 Methodology of Head-Up Tilt Test: What is the Sensitivity and Specificity of the Different Protocols?....Pages 116-121 Front Matter....Pages 97-97 What Do We Know Today About the Outcome of Vasovagal Syncope?....Pages 122-126 Vasovagal Syncope with Asystolic Pause: Drugs, Pacemaker, or Both?....Pages 127-131 Invasive Tilt Testing: The Search for a New Sensor To Permit Earlier Pacing Therapy in Vasovagal Syncope....Pages 132-133 Front Matter....Pages 135-135 Isolated First-Degree Atrioventricular Block: A New Indication for Dual-Chamber Pacing?....Pages 137-139 Physiologic Dual-Chamber Pacing with Short Atrioventricular Delay in Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Which Hemodynamic Effects and Clinical Results?....Pages 140-143 Dual-Chamber Pacing in Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Is There Evidence for a Real Benefit?....Pages 144-146 Automatic Mode Switching: How Useful Is It?....Pages 147-150 Extraction of Chronically Implanted Pacemaker Leads: When and How?....Pages 151-158 Front Matter....Pages 159-159 Transesophageal Pacing During Exercise: Is It Useful to Evaluate Palpitations of Unknown Origin?....Pages 161-165 New Approaches to Treatment of Atrial Tachycardia....Pages 166-171 Atrioventricular Node Anatomy and Physiology: What Have We Learned from Catheter Ablation?....Pages 172-175 Radiofrequency Ablation of Atrioventricular Node Reentrant Tachycardias: Which Results and Predictors of Success and Recurrence?....Pages 176-180 Surface Electrocardiogram in Ventricular Pre-excitation: How Reliable Is It To Locate the Site of Accessory Pathway?....Pages 181-182 Radiofrequency Ablation in the Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome: Do the Results Justify a Widespread Application?....Pages 183-186 Recurrent Palpitations After Successful Radiofrequency Ablation of Supraventricular Tachycardias: Which Significance?....Pages 187-189 Antiarrhythmic Therapy of Supraventricular Tachyarrhythmias: Which Role for the Drugs Today?....Pages 190-191 Radiofrequency Ablation of Supraventricular Tachycardias in Infants and Children: When Is It Really Indicated?....Pages 192-196 Front Matter....Pages 197-197 Lone Atrial Fibrillation: Which Anatomical and Electrophysiologic Substrate?....Pages 199-202 Is Mortality in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Related to the Underlying Heart Disease or to the Arrhythmia?....Pages 203-206 Thromboembolic Risk in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Can It Be Predicted on the Basis of Clinical Variables?....Pages 207-211 Front Matter....Pages 197-197 Should All Patients Undergo Transesophageal Echocardiography Before Electrical Cardioversion of Atrial Fibrillation....Pages 212-215 Anticoagulation in Atrial Fibrillation: Is Aspirin Sufficient?....Pages 216-220 Pharmacologic Cardioversion of Atrial Fibrillation: Always the Same Algorithm or Different Drugs for Different Patients?....Pages 221-224 Prophylaxis of Atrial Fibrillation: What are the Benefits and Risks of the Different Antiarrhythmic Drugs?....Pages 225-230 Atrial Fibrillation with a Slow Ventricular Response: Is Theophylline a Good Alternative to a Pacemaker?....Pages 231-235 Control of Rapid Heart Rate in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Drugs or Ablation?....Pages 236-241 How Effective and Safe Is Internal Direct Current Shock for Atrial Fibrillation Refractory to External Cardioversion?....Pages 242-245 Automatic Implantable Atrial Defibrillator: A Dream or a Real Prospect?....Pages 246-248 Paroxysmal Atrial Flutter: Which Mechanism and Treatment in the Era of Catheter Ablation?....Pages 249-254 Back Matter....Pages 255-255