Pacemaker infection has multiple risk factors. Its presentation is most often similar to infected endocarditis and the diagnosis is made through studying blood cultures. Transesophageal echocardiography can confirm the diagnosis. The most common microorganisms are staphylococcus speciesis. As a matter of fact, complete pacemaker removal appears to be the only definite treatment. We presented a ...

Echocardiographic Findings That May Help Identify Occult Intermittent Atrial Fibrillation in Hypertensive Patients at Risk for a Second (or First) Ischemic Stroke To the Editor: In their review, Liao et al1 found that Holter or event monitoring of patients after ischemic stroke identified 5% to 7% with intermittent atrial fibrillation not present on the admission ECG. They suggest that such mon...

A case of atrial tachysystole with apparent exit block is reported in which the basic cycle length of atrial activity is 260 msec. Simultaneous right intra-atrial electrograms show cycle lengths of 510 to 780 msec which are roughly multiples of 260 msec establishing the diagnosis of exit block. Rapid atrial stimulation (1,200/min) to overdrive the rapid ectopic atrial pacemaker was only transie...

BACKGROUND Atrial remodeling has emerged as the structural basis for the maintenance and recurrence of atrial fibrillation. Lactate signaling cascade was recently linked to some cardiovascular disorders for its regulatory functions to myocardial structural remodeling. It was hypothesized that lactate signaling cascade was involved in the maintenance and recurrence of atrial fibrillation by regu...

BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an independent risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the underlying mechanisms are still not clearly elucidated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the atrial electromechanical function, atrial electrophysiological changes and AF inducibility in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits. METHODS In 8 alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits and 8 controls, ...

Assessment of the complex relations between pressure and volume in the right atrium has been hampered in the past by difficulties in the measurement of atrial volume. Accordingly, in the present study the dynamics of right atrial pressure-volume relations were examined (with the use of an impedance catheter to measure right atrial volume) in patients with and without an atrial septal defect. Ri...

OBJECTIVE To observe the atrial capture management in an atrial threshold monitoring algorithm. By calculating the enabling rate of the atrial threshold monitoring algorithm and comparing atrial thresholds measured automatically and manually, we evaluate its safety, reliability and applicability in clinical practice. METHODS AND RESULTS Data were collected at implant, start of atrial threshol...

Atrial flutter (AFL) is a common arrhythmia in clinical practice. Several experimental models such as tricuspid regurgitation model, tricuspid ring model, sterile pericarditis model and atrial crush injury model have provided important information about reentrant circuit and can test the effect of antiarrhythmic drugs. Human atrial flutter has typical and atypical forms. Typical atrial flutter ...

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation can be categorized into nonpermanent and permanent atrial fibrillation. There is less information on permanent than on nonpermanent atrial fibrillation patients. This analysis aimed to describe the characteristics and current management, including the proportion of patients with successful atrial fibrillation control, of these atrial fibrillation subsets in a larg...

OBJECTIVE To compare the acute effects of right atrial appendage, atrial septal, coronary sinus os, and dual site pacing on the duration of atrial activation. METHODS 20 patients with a variety of cardiac conditions underwent an intracardiac electrophysiological study. Electrograms were recorded from the right atrial appendage and at multiple sites within the coronary sinus. The duration of a...