BACKGROUND: Although cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is beneficial in most heart failure patients, up to 40% do not respond to CRT. It has been suggested that multipoint left ventricle pacing (MPP) would increase the response rate. AIM: To assess the CRT response rate at 6 months in patients implanted with a CRT device with the MPP feature activated early after the implant. METHODS This was a multicentre, prospective, open-label and non-randomized study. The primary endpoint was response to biventricular pacing defined as >15% relative reduction in left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) comparing echocardiography measurements performed at baseline and 6 months by a core laboratory. Among secondary endpoints the combined endpoint of mortality or all-cause hospitalizations was evaluated. Primary study endpoint and clinical outcomes were compared to a Quarto II control cohort. RESULTS: 105 patients were included. The response rate was 64.6% (97.5% lower confidence bound 53%). Mean relative reduction in LVESV was 25.3% and mean absolute increase in LVEF was 9.4%. The subjects with device programmed using anatomical approach had showed a trend toward higher responder rate than those using the electrical approach (72% vs. 61.1%, p= 0.32). Compared with Quarto II, the combined endpoint of mortality and or all-cause hospitalizations was lower in Quarto III (12.4% vs 25.4%, p=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Early activation of MPP was not associated to an advantage increasing echocardiography responders to CRT at 6 months of follow up. Nevertheless, MPP was associated with better clinical outcomes in comparison to a historical control cohort. Patients programmed using widest pacing cathodes had a numerically higher responder rate.

Aims. The management of patients with asymptomatic significant aortic regurgitation (sAR) is often challenging and appropriate timing of aortic valve surgery remains controversial. Prognostic value of diastolic parameters has been demonstrated in several cardiac diseases. In particular, left atrial (LA) function has been shown to be an important determinant of morbimortality. The purpose of this study was to analyze the prognostic significance of diastolic function in asymptomatic patients with sAR. Methods and results. A total of 126 patients with asymptomatic sAR were included. Conventional echocardiographic systolic and diastolic function parameters were assessed. LA auto-strain analysis was performed in a subgroup of 57 patients. During a mean follow up of 33±19 months, 25 (19,8%) patients reached the combined end-point. Univariate analysis showed that LV volumes, LVEF, E wave, E/e’ ratio, LA volume and LA reservoir strain (LASr) were significant predictors of events. Multivariate model 1 that tested all echocardiographic variables statistically significant in the univariate model showed that LVEDV [HR=1,02;95% CI:1,01-1,03 (p<0,001)] and E/e’ ratio [HR=1,12;95% CI:1,03-1,23 (p=0,01)] were significant predictors of events. In the subgroup of patients with LA auto-strain analyzed, a second multivariate model including the previous significant variables for the first model as well as LASr, showed that LVEDV [HR=1,05;95% CI:1,01-1,08 (p=0,016)] and LASr [HR=0,8;95% CI:0,65-0,98 (p<0,035)] were the most significant predictors of cardiovascular events. Conclusions. In this population of asymptomatic patients with sAR and normal LV systolic function, baseline diastolic parameters were prognostic markers of cardiovascular events; among them, LASr played a strong independent predictor role.

Introduction. Unstable reentrant atrial tachycardias (ATs) (i.e. those with frequent circuit modification or conversion to atrial fibrillation) are challenging to ablate. We have tested a strategy to achieve arrhythmia stabilization into mappable stable ATs based on the detection and ablation of rotors. Methods and Results. From May 2017 to December 2019, 97 consecutive patients with reentrant ATs were ablated. Of these, 18 (18.6%) presented unstable circuits and were included. Mapping was performed using conventional high-density mapping catheters (IntellaMap ORION, PentaRay NAV or Advisor HD Grid). Rotors were subjectively identified as fractionated continuous (or quasi-continuous) electrograms on 1-2 adjacent bipoles of the mapping catheter, without dedicated software. 13 patients (72%) had detectable rotors (median 2 [1–3] rotors per patient); focal ablation achieved conversion into stable AT or sinus rhythm in 12 (92%). In the other 6 patients, sites with spatiotemporal dispersion (i.e. all the cycle length comprised within the mapping catheter) plus non-continuous fractionation on single bipoles were targeted. 17 sites with spatiotemporal dispersion were detected and focally ablated. Globally, and excluding 1 patient with spontaneous AT stabilization, ablation success to stabilize the AT was achieved in 16/17 patients (94.1%). One-year freedom from atrial arrhythmias was similar between patients with unstable and stable ATs (66.7% Vs 65.8%, p=0.946). Conclusion. Most unstable reentrant ATs show detectable rotors, identified as sites with single-bipole fractionated quasi-continuous signals, or spatiotemporal dispersion plus non-continuous fractionation. Ablation of these sites is highly effective to stabilize the AT or convert it into sinus rhythm.