Tag Archives: current practice

Dr Paul Foley Introduction 2018 marks the 60-year anniversary of the first patient to receive an implantable battery-powered pacemaker.1 In fact, the earliest recorded description of pacing was in 1882, and now countless lives have been saved by pacemaker technology. Subsequent important developments include the development of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in 1980 and then, more recently, one of the most effective cardiac treatments, cardiac resynchronisation therapy, which was first described in 1984. Exciting and disruptive developments in pacing technology may, potentially, herald a sea change in practice, while historic

Introduction Even with modern high spatial and temporal resolution scanners, image quality obtained during computed tomography (CT) coronary angiography (CTCA) remains highly dependent on stable, regular, low heart rates. To achieve this pre-scan oral and/or intravenous beta blockade is widely used. Anecdotal and published reports suggest a wide variation in the route of administration and quantities of beta blocker used, particularly the intravenous route.1-7 Doses used are commonly far in excess of that recommended by the British National Formulary (BNF)8 to achieve adequate heart rate reduction. This study examines the current CTCA-relate