Letter from the Editor in Chief

DOI: 10.19102/icrm.2021.121207

MOUSSA MANSOUR, MD, FHRS, FACC

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Dr. Mansour reports the reception of research grants from Abbott Laboratories, Biosense Webster, Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and SentreHeart. He is also a consultant for Abbott Laboratories, Biosense Webster, Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, Janssen, Medtronic, Phillips, Novartis, and SentreHeart and reports an equity relationship with EPS Solutions. All aforementioned relationships are in the area of atrial fibrillation; Dr. Mansour additionally reports an equity relationship in the area of ventricular fibrillation with NewPace Ltd.

Dear Readers,

As 2021 concludes, I would like to summarize the major developments that occurred in the field of cardiac electrophysiology during the past 12 months. Overall, the field continued to grow at impressive rates, fueled by scientific and technical discoveries that helped to expand the indications and improve the outcomes of arrhythmia treatment.

First, interest in atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation continued to increase in 2021, and the rate of growth in the number of AF ablation procedures remains high. Strategies to improve the efficiency of the procedure, such as same-day discharge, have been adopted more broadly, allowing hospitals to continue performing AF ablations despite a nationwide shortage of hospital beds. On the device-manufacturing side, irreversible electroporation (also known as pulsed-field ablation) seems to be gaining significant momentum. This novel energy source for AF ablation has the unique feature of being cardio-selective, thus reducing and possibly eliminating the risk of injury to collateral structures,¹ such as the esophagus and the phrenic nerve, and it is expected that this option will replace thermal energy in a couple of years.

The field of left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) also experienced significant growth in 2021. New-generation devices, such as the WATCHMAN FLX (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA, USA) and the newly approved Amulet™ device (Abbott, Chicago, IL, USA), appear to facilitate procedural success and reduce complications² and will likely increase the accessibility of LAAC for a larger number of patients and providers. Large multicenter clinical trials, such as CHAMPION-AF (NCT04394546) and the Amplatzer™ Amulet™ Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion vs. Novel Oral Anticoagulation (CATALYST) trial (NCT04226547), were also launched in mid-2021 with the aim of seeking new indications for LAAC.

Ablation for ventricular tachycardia continues to gather significant interest. The procedure complication rate continues to decline because of new practices and studies, such as the Direct Oral Anticoagulants for Stroke Prevention Post–Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation (STROKE-VT) study, which demonstrated that the use of direct oral inhibitors following endocardial and/or epicardial ablation was associated with a reduced risk of transient ischemic attack or stroke.³

Finally, the field of cardiac implantable electronic devices has also witnessed exciting developments. The use of subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillators continues to increase, driven by the results of the PRAETORIAN clinical trial published in 2020.⁴ On the pacing front, left bundle branch area pacing is also gaining more popularity; this year, the Geisinger–Rush Conduction System Pacing Registry showed that, compared to conventional right ventricular pacing, this form of pacing was associated with a significant reduction in the composite outcome of all-cause mortality, heart failure hospitalization, or upgrade to biventricular pacing.⁵

I believe that we are fortunate to be working in a field witnessing growth on so many fronts. I would like to end by wishing you and your loved ones a happy holiday season.

Sincerely,

Moussa Mansour, MD, FHRS, FACC

Editor in Chief

The Journal of Innovations in Cardiac Rhythm Management

MMansour@InnovationsInCRM.com

Director, Atrial Fibrillation Program

Jeremy Ruskin and Dan Starks Endowed Chair in Cardiology

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston, MA 02114

References

1. Reddy VY, Koruth J, Jais P, et al. Ablation of atrial fibrillation with pulsed electric fields: an ultra-rapid, tissue-selective modality for cardiac ablation. JACC Clin Electrophysiol. 2018;4(8):987–995. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
2. Cruz-González I, Korsholm K, Trejo-Velasco B. et al. Procedural and short-term results with the new Watchman FLX left atrial appendage occlusion device. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2020;13(23):2732–2741. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
3. Lakkireddy D, Shenthar J, Garg J, et al. Safety/efficacy of DOAC versus aspirin for reduction of risk of cerebrovascular events following VT ablation [online ahead of print July 29, 2021]. JACC Clin Electrophysiol. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
4. Knops RE, Olde Nordkamp LRA, Delnoy P-P HM, et al. Subcutaneous or transvenous defibrillator therapy. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(6):526–536. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
5. Sharma PS, Patel NR, Ravi V, et al. Clinical outcomes of left bundle branch area pacing compared to right ventricular pacing: Results from the Geisinger–Rush Conduction System Pacing Registry [online ahead of print September 3, 2021]. Heart Rhythm. [CrossRef] [PubMed]