Health Care Utilization After Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation: A Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia (VT) can reduce the burden of ventricular arrhythmia (VA) but its effect on health care utilization and costs after such therapy is poorly known. We sought to compare the rates of cardiovascular (CV)-related hospitalizations, survival, and health care costs in patients with recurrent VT treated either with VT ablation or with medical therapy. METHODS: One-hundred implantable cardioverter-defibrillator patients with structural heart disease who underwent VT ablation were included. Propensity score-matched patients with recurrent VT treated with medical therapy were identified from a prospective registry of approximately 7000 de novo implantable cardioverter-defibrillator patients. Outcomes and costs were ascertained using health administrative databases. RESULTS: Among patients who underwent VT ablation, the cumulative rates of VA-related hospitalizations were lower in the 2 years after their ablation procedure compared with the year before (rate ratio, 0.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22-0.43). Rates of CV-related hospitalization and hospitalization because of VA post index date were similar between the VT ablation and medical therapy groups (hazard ratio [HR], 0.94; 95% CI, 0.57-1.54 and HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.57-1.91, respectively). Health care costs in the VT ablation patients were not increased post-ablation compared with the medical management group. The risk of all-cause mortality was lower among patients in the VT ablation group relative to the medical therapy group (HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.4-0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who underwent VT ablation experienced a significant reduction in their rate of VA-related hospitalizations. Patients treated with VT ablation had similar rates of CV-related hospitalization compared with those treated with medical therapy without increased health care-related costs.

Predictors of atrio-ventricular conduction disease, long-term outcomes in patients with myotonic dystrophy types I and II.

BACKGROUND: Patients with myotonic dystrophy (DM) have an annual mortality of approximately 3.5%, one-third of which is sudden cardiac death. The predictors of cardiac conduction disease in these patients are incompletely defined. METHODS: A single-center cohort study included 211 patients with DM type 1 (DM1) and 25 DM type 2 (DM2). A severe electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormality was defined as a PR interval of ≥240 ms or QRS duration of ≥120 ms. RESULTS: A severe ECG abnormality was found in 24% of DM1 patients and 17% of DM2 patients. Among DM1 patients, those with a severe ECG abnormality were older (41.6 ± 14.6 vs 35.4 ± 12.6 years) and more likely to have hypertension (13.2% vs 4.2%, P = 0.038), heart failure (4.4% vs 0%, P = 0.056), atrial arrhythmias (6.6% vs 0.7%, P < 0.001), a higher number of trinucleotide repeats (689 ± 451 vs 474 ± 322, P = 0.01), and a family history of sudden cardiac death (26.7% vs 5.6%, P < 0.001) or pacemaker implantation (20% vs 0.7%, P < 0.001). Pacemakers or defibrillators were implanted in 14% of all patients, including 65% of patients with severe ECG abnormalities. During 57 ± 46 months, 13 patients died (1.16% per year), including three patients who died suddenly, two of whom had normally functioning pacemakers. CONCLUSION: In DM1, atrio-ventricular conduction disease is associated with increasing age, concomitant cardiovascular disease, nucleotide repeat length, and family history. The systematic identification of conduction disease and aggressive use of prophylactic pacemakers is associated with low rate of sudden cardiac death.