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There is much current interest in the entirely subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) which is heralded as a major advance for the prevention of sudden cardiac death in selected patients.

The Heart Rhythm Society Convention is the largest cardiac electrophysiology meeting in the world attracting thousands of participants and experts from around the globe.

This report, by Dr Benedict M Glover (Senior Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellow) summarises the key elements of the convention focusing on late breaking trials, live cases and important developments.

Now in its seventh year, Arrhythmia Awareness Week (AAAW) has been instrumental in helping to highlight heart rhythm disorders and work towards improving the diagnosis and treatment of this once largely overlooked area.

The first implantation of the now commercially available Advisa DR MRI™ SureScan™ pacing system has taken place in United Kingdom (UK).

Advisa MRI is Medtronic’s second-generation pacing system in a portfolio of pacing systems designed, tested, and approved for use as labeled with MRI machines in UK.

Data from a post-hoc analysis presented today at the 59th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta, Georgia, evaluated transition to Multaq® (dronedarone) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL) following prior treatment with amiodarone.

The UK Department of Health’s strategy for stroke care has increased the priority and awareness of the condition and started to improve patients’ care and outcomes, concludes a report by the National Audit Office(1). Actions taken since 2006 have improved the value for money of stroke care; but improvements have not been universal and improvements in follow-up care have not matched those of acute care services.

Urgent coordinated action is needed to avoid the thousands of preventable strokes that leave many atrial fibrillation (AF) patients mentally and physically disabled or dead, every year. A report, How Can We Avoid a Stroke Crisis?, recently launched in the European Parliament by Action for Stroke Prevention, a group of health experts from across Europe, proposes measures to tackle stroke in patients with AF, the most common, sustained abnormal heart rhythm and a major cause of stroke(1).

BMI and waist circumference explain one half of all fatal and one quarter of all non-fatal cardiovascular disease in those overweight and obese according to a recent ten-year follow-up study.

Sanofi-aventis has announced today that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Multaq® (dronedarone – 400mg Tablets) in all 27 European member states. The compound will be the first antiarrhythmic drug to be approved in the EU in the last ten years. This approval follows the European Commission positive opinion issued on September 25, 2009 by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicine agency (EMEA).

The RealiseAF registry will help to better define and understand the cardiovascular risk profile of AF patients and characterize their cardiovascular outcomes.