Tag Archives: crt

Following the article by Drs Inderjeet Bharaj et al.4 asking whether the medical profession is doing enough to give patients appropriate advice about driving after certain cardiac conditions, we are writing to share our own protocol. Hereford County Hospital is a 208-bed district general hospital that implants around 200–250 cardiac devices yearly, including complex cardiac devices, such as implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) and cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) devices. Many implants are in emergency inpatients and our aim was to increase the provision of appropriate driving advice upon discharge. Method and measurements Baselin

Drug therapy From treating dropsy… Treating congestion is an essential role of the heart failure specialist with diuretic therapy being the cornerstone of treatment. There is an evidence vacuum, however, in how best to relieve congestion. For example, which agents to use, at what doses and with what escalation strategy? Dr Peter Cowburn (Southampton General Hospital) delivered an exemplary lecture highlighting the importance of relieving congestion, the current evidence base and practical advice from his personal experience on how best to achieve the goal of euvolaemia. Relieving congestion matters and, when achieved, is associated with lo

Editors: Burri H, Deharo J-C, Israel C Publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015 ISBN: 978-0-19-872777-4 Price: £59.99 This case-based study guide for implantable device troubleshooting is composed of 70 ‘real-life’ cases involving pacemakers, implantable cardio-defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) devices. It is aimed at all physicians and physiologists involved in the management of patients with implantable devices, and is the first in a series of specialist ‘handbooks’ produced by the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA). As such it particularly geared towards those sitting the EHRA affilia

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Dr Andrew J Turley (TheJames Cook University Hospital) Despite clear benefits, UK implant rates remain among the lowest in Europe, with wide regional variability seen. This variability is complex and poorly understood.3 One area of inconsistency is between local implementation of international and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. In 2014, NICE released new guidance (TA314) on the use of ICDs and CRT that are significantly more inclusive than previous versions (TA95/TA120).4-6 There is no longer a need for QRS duration, evidence of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) or electrophysiological studies for

The 2013 ESC Guidelines on Cardiac Pacing and Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy1 developed in collaboration with the EHRA, were launched at the meeting and also published simultaneously in the European Heart Journal and EP Europace. They have been redesigned to offer a more accessible format with greater emphasis on a practical ‘how to’ approach, which is targetted at generalists, including general practitioners and geriatricians, as well as cardiologists and electrophysiologists. “By taking this user friendly approach we hope to get our messages out to the wider medical community, which ultimately should allow more patients to benefit