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Background: On the one hand, climate change affects health and healthcare systems worldwide. On the other hand, the healthcare system contributes to environmental pollution. These environmental issues concern rhythmology, particularly because of the use of complex, often plastic, single-use devices., Aims: To assess current practices, as well as the training received by rhythmologists and their willingness to implement the necessary changes., Methods: A four-part questionnaire with 15 questions was designed, and was distributed online to rhythmologists, via the French Society of Cardiology., Results: Eighty-seven responses were received from 42 French departments. Most rhythmologists (98.9%) had never attended courses on climate change and its impact on human health during their medical studies; they thought it would be relevant to offer courses on these issues as part of initial medical training (59.5% of answers), continuing medical education (62.3% of answers) and training in interventional rhythmology (55.9% of answers). The participants had already been able to implement actions in their healthcare establishments, in the following categories: transport; food; waste management; scientific studies; and political work. One hundred percent of rhythmologists were willing to change some of their interventional practices if the changes did not alter the risk for the patient or diminish the clinical benefit. However, there were numerous obstacles to overcome: "I don't know where to start"; "I'm not helped by my healthcare institution"; "regulatory constraints are too important"; "I don't have the time" and "I don't know what's relevant"., Conclusions: These responses reinforce the importance of supporting these doctors so that their interventional practices can evolve. This evolution in interventional practices, based on scientific studies, and within a legislative and regulatory framework adapted to environmental issues, will enable the development of a more sustainable rhythmology practice., Competing Interests: Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Sustainability in healthcare, particularly within the domain of cardiac electrophysiology, assumes paramount importance for the near future. The escalating environmental constraints encountered necessitate a proactive approach. This position paper aims to raise awareness among physicians, spark critical inquiry and identify potential solutions to enhance the sustainability of our practice. Reprocessing of single-use medical devices has emerged as a potential solution to mitigate the environmental impact of electrophysiology procedures, while also offering economic advantages. However, reprocessing remains unauthorized in certain countries. In regions where it is possible, stringent regulatory standards must be adhered to, to ensure patient safety. It is essential that healthcare professionals, policymakers and manufacturers collaborate to drive innovation, explore sustainable practices and ensure that patient care remains uncompromised in the face of environmental challenges. Ambitious national/international programmes of disease prevention should be the cornerstone of the strategy. It is equally vital to implement immediate actions, as delineated in this position paper, to bring about tangible change quickly., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Recurrences of atrial fibrillation (AF) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) are mainly due to pulmonary vein reconnection. However, a growing number of patients have AF recurrences despite durable PVI. The optimal ablative strategy for these patients is unknown. We analyzed the impact of current ablation strategies in a large multicenter study., Methods: Patients undergoing a redo ablation for AF and presenting durable PVI were included. The freedom from atrial arrhythmia after pulmonary vein-based, linear-based, electrogram-based, and trigger-based ablation strategies were compared., Results: Between 2010 and 2020, 367 patients (67% men, 63±10 years, 44% paroxysmal) underwent a redo ablation for AF recurrences despite durable PVI at 39 centers. After durable PVI was confirmed, linear-based ablation was performed in 219 (60%) patients, electrogram-based ablation in 168 (45%) patients, trigger-based ablation in 101 (27%) patients, and pulmonary vein-based ablation in 56 (15%) patients. Seven patients (2%) did not undergo any additional ablation during the redo procedure. After 22±19 months of follow-up, 122 (33%) and 159 (43%) patients had a recurrence of atrial arrhythmia at 12 and 24 months, respectively. No significant difference in arrhythmia-free survival was observed between the different ablation strategies. Left atrial dilatation was the only independent factor associated with arrhythmia-free survival (HR, 1.59 [95% CI, 1.13-2.23]; P =0.006)., Conclusions: In patients with recurrent AF despite durable PVI, no ablation strategy used alone or in combination during the redo procedure appears to be superior in improving arrhythmia-free survival. Left atrial size is a significant predictor of ablation outcome in this population.

Background: Atrial fibrillation ablation is often performed by achieving pulmonary vein isolation using the "wide antral circumferential ablation" (WACA) technique, but many pulmonary veins remain connected because of conduction gaps in the ablation line., Aim: To analyse the efficacy of a novel technique based on pacing manoeuvres to detect gaps in an initial WACA lesion., Methods: Patients referred for radiofrequency atrial fibrillation ablation were enrolled prospectively. A WACA lesion set was performed, isolating ipsilateral pulmonary veins together. If pulmonary vein isolation was not achieved, the atria were paced using an ablation catheter. For each pacing site, "activation delay" and "activation sequence" were analysed using a circular mapping catheter positioned at the pulmonary vein ostium., Results: Twenty-one patients were included. A total of 25 non-isolated WACA lesion sets were studied. Three patterns were identified: (1) the activation delays converged towards one point with the shortest delay; no modification of the activation sequence (indicating one gap); (2) the activation delays converged towards at least two close locations; no change in the activation sequence (indicating at least two close gaps); (3) the activation delays converged towards at least two remote locations; modification of the activation sequence (indicating at least two remote gaps). Pacing manoeuvres and effect of ablation allowed precise localization of gaps, ultimately leading to pulmonary vein isolation in all patients., Conclusion: This simple pacing method accurately detected the location of residual connections after WACA lesion sets performed for atrial fibrillation ablation, allowing pulmonary vein isolation to be achieved., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Background: Antiplatelet therapies, including prasugrel, are a cornerstone in the treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), but are associated with a bleeding risk. This risk has been evaluated in randomized trials, but few data on real-world patients are available., Aim: To evaluate prasugrel safety in real-world patients with STEMI., Methods: Consecutive patients with STEMI were recruited over 1 year. Follow-up was done at 3 months and 1 year to evaluate prasugrel safety from hospital discharge to the STEMI anniversary date. The primary outcome was occurrence of any major bleeding according to the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) 3 or 5 definitions, or minor bleeding according to the BARC 2 definition., Results: Overall, 1083 patients were recruited. Compared to patients treated with aspirin+clopidogrel, patients treated with aspirin+prasugrel had fewer BARC 3 or 5 bleedings (two [0.4%] patients vs. nine [1.8%] patients; P=0.04), but more BARC 2 bleedings (45 [9.3%] patients vs. 20 [4.0%] patients; P<0.001). The baseline characteristics of prasugrel- and clopidogrel-treated patients differed because the former were carefully selected (younger, higher body mass index, less frequent history of stroke). In the overall population, rates of in-hospital and out-of-hospital major bleeding were 2.6% (n=28) and 1.3% (n=13), respectively., Conclusion: The rate of major bleeding, particularly out-of-hospital bleeding, in patients treated with prasugrel is low within 1 year after a STEMI. Accurate selection of patient candidates for prasugrel is likely to have reduced the risk of bleeding., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the outcomes of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) diagnosed by means of echocardiography-based screening., Methods: A cohort of children with and with no RHD was driven from a systematic echocardiography-based nationwide surveillance among 4th grade (age 9-10 years) schoolchildren in South-Pacific New Caledonia (2008-2011). The specific follow-up programme used clinical and standardised echocardiography (2012 World Heart Federation criteria) predefined endpoints., Results: Out of the 17,633 children screened, 157 were detected with findings of RHD. Among them, 114 consented children (76.5%) were enrolled (RHD-group), and were compared to 227 randomly selected healthy classmates (non-RHD group). After a median follow-up period of 2.58 years [1.31-3.63], incidence of acute rheumatic fever was similar in RHD and non-RHD groups (p=0.23): 10.28/1000/year and 3.31/1000/year, respectively. By echocardiography, 90 children in the RHD group (78.9%) still presented with RHD at follow-up, compared to 31 (13.7%) in the non-RHD group (p<0.0001). Only 12 children (10.5%) experienced progression of RHD over time, mild single valve disease lesions remaining unchanged in the majority of cases (61 out of 73, 83.6%). Overcrowded living conditions were independently associated with persistent RHD on echocardiography (OR 8.27 95% CI (1.67-41.08), p<0.01). Benzathine penicillin G was given in 88.6% of children in the RHD-group., Conclusions: Children screened positive for RHD by echocardiography have mostly mild but irreversible heart valve disease under secondary prophylaxis. Our findings also suggest that a single screening point in childhood may prove insufficient in high-risk populations., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains a major public health problem worldwide. Although early diagnosis by echocardiography may potentially play a key role in developing active surveillance, systematic evaluation of simple approaches in resource poor settings are needed., Methods and Results: We prospectively compared focused cardiac ultrasound (FCU) to a reference approach for RHD screening in a school children population. FCU included (1) the use of a pocket-sized echocardiography machine, (2) nonexpert staff (2 nurses with specific training), and (3) a simplified set of echocardiographic criteria. The reference approach used standardized echocardiographic examination, reviewed by an expert cardiologist, according to 2012 World Heart Federation criteria. Among the 6 different echocardiographic criteria, first tested in a preliminary phase, mitral regurgitation jet length≥2 cm or any aortic regurgitation was considered best suited to be FCU criteria. Of the 1217 subjects enrolled (mean, 9.6±1 years; 49.6% male), 49 (4%) were diagnosed with RHD by the reference approach. The sensitivity of FCU for the detection of RHD was 83.7% (95% confidence interval, 73.3-94.0) for nurse A and 77.6% (95% confidence interval, 65.9-89.2) for nurse B. FCU yielded a specificity of 90.9% (95% confidence interval, 89.3-92.6) and 92.0% (95% confidence interval, 90.4-93.5) according to users. Percentage of agreement among nurses was 91.4%., Conclusions: FCU by nonexperts using pocket devices seems feasible and yields acceptable sensitivity and specificity for RHD detection when compared with the state-of-the-art approach, thereby opening new perspectives for mass screening for RHD in low-resource settings., (© 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.)