The primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the recent 'first wave' of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Health Service (NHS) has triaged planned services to create surge capacity. The primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was in a grey area of triage guidance, but it was suggested as a procedure that could be reasonably stopped. Recent reports have highlighted deaths of patients awaiting ICDs who may have been deferred during the pandemic. In our trust we reorganised our device service and continued to implant primary prevention ICDs during the 'first wave' and, here, report that most patients wished to proceed and underwent uncomplicated implantations. One patient later died from COVID-19, although the transmission site cannot be definitively concluded. With strict adherence to public health guidance and infection prevention strategies, we believe that ICD implantation can be performed safely during the pandemic, and this should be standard practice during subsequent surges.

Safety of in-hospital insertable cardiac monitor procedures performed outside the traditional settings: results from the Reveal LINQ in-office 2 international study.

BACKGROUND: Historically, the majority of insertable cardiac monitor (ICM) procedures were performed in the cardiac catheterization (cath) lab, electrophysiology (EP) lab, or operating room (OR). The miniaturization of ICMs allows the procedure to be relocated within the hospital without compromising patient safety. We sought to estimate the rate of untoward events associated with procedures performed within the hospital but outside the traditional settings and to characterize resource utilization, procedure time intervals, and physician experience. METHODS: The Reveal LINQ in-Office 2 (RIO 2) International study was a single arm, multicenter, prospective study. Patients indicated for an ICM and willing to undergo device insertion outside the cath/EP lab or OR were eligible and followed for 90 days after insertion. RESULTS: A total of 191 patients (45.5% female aged 63.8 ± 26.9 years) underwent successful Reveal LINQ ICM insertion at 17 centers in Europe, Canada and Australia. The median total visit duration was 106 min (interquartile range [IQR]: 55-61). Patient preparation and patient education accounted for 10 min (IQR: 5-20) and 10 min (IQR: 8-15) of total visit duration, respectively. Preparation and education occurred in the procedure room for 90.6 and 60.2% of patients, respectively. There were no untoward events (0.0, 95% CI: 0.0-2.1%) though four patients presented with procedure-related adverse events that did not require invasive intervention. Physicians rated procedure location as convenient or very convenient. CONCLUSIONS: The Reveal LINQ™ ICM insertion can be safely and efficiently performed in the hospital outside the cath/EP lab or OR. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02412488 ; registered on April 9, 2015.

An unusual case of combined classic and reverse twiddler's syndrome.

In recent years the phenomenon of reverse twiddler's syndrome has been described, characterized by pulse generator manipulation resulting in lead advancement rather than retraction. We describe what we believe to be the first reported case of both classic and reverse twiddler's syndrome occurring simultaneously in a patient with a biventricular implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

Pseudo-dissection of ascending aorta in inferior myocardial infarction.

Acute aortic dissection is a cardiac emergency which can present as inferior myocardial infarction. It has high morbidity and mortality requiring prompt diagnosis and treatment. Rapid advances in non-invasive imaging have facilitated the early diagnosis of this condition and in ruling out this potentially catastrophic illness. We report an interesting case of a 57-year old man who presented with inferior myocardial infarction requiring thrombolysis and temporary pacing wire for complete heart block. An echocardiogram was highly suspicious of aortic dissection. CT scan confirmed that the malposition of the temporary pacing wire through the aorta mimicked aortic dissection.

Congenital pulmonary vein stenosis beyond childhood.

We report a case of anomalous connection of pulmonary veins with insertional stenoses causing undiagnosed severe pulmonary hypertension in a 37-year-old woman. We report the use of non-invasive diagnostic investigations in making the diagnosis, and the apparent cure of this rare condition with resolution of right heart failure following surgical treatment.