Guidelines and Expert Consensus Documents summarize and evaluate all currently available evidence on a particular issue with the aim of assisting physicians in selecting the best management strategies for a typical patient, suffering from a given condition, taking into account the impact on outcome, as well as the risk/benefit ratio of particular diagnostic or therapeutic means. Guidelines are no substitutes for textbooks. The legal implications of medical guidelines have been previously discussed.

A great number of Guidelines and Expert Consensus Documents have been issued in recent years by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) as well as by other societies and organizations. Because of the impact on clinical practice, quality criteria for the development of guidelines have been established in order to make all decisions transparent to the user. The recommendations for formulating and issuing ESC Guidelines and Expert Consensus Documents can be found on the ESC Web Site (http://www.escardio.org/guidelines).

In brief, experts in the field are selected and undertake a comprehensive review of the published evidence for management and/or prevention of a given condition. A critical evaluation of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures is performed, including assessment of the risk/benefit ratio. Estimates of expected health outcomes for larger societies are included, where data exist. The level of evidence and the strength of recommendation of particular treatment options are weighed and graded according to predefined scales, as outlined in Tables 1 and 2 .

View this table:

Table 1 
Classes of recommendations



View this table:

Table 2 
Levels of evidence



The experts of the writing panels have provided disclosure statements of all relationships they may have which might be perceived as real or potential sources of conflicts of interest. These disclosure forms are kept on file at the European Heart House Headquarters of the ESC. Any changes in conflict of interest that arise during the writing period must be notified …

/pdf/guidelines-for-the-diagnosis-and-management-of-syncope-19cqe5vz46.pdf

Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of syncope (version 2009): the Task Force for the Diagnosis and Management of Syncope of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

HRS/EHRA/APHRS expert consensus statement on the diagnosis and management of patients with inherited primary arrhythmia syndromes: document endorsed by HRS, EHRA, and APHRS in May 2013 and by ACCF, AHA, PACES, and AEPC in June 2013.

BACKGROUND: Brugada syndrome is characterized by ST-segment elevation in the right precordial leads and an increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Fundamental questions remain on the best strategy for assessing the real disease-associated arrhythmic risk, especially in asymptomatic patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognosis and risk factors of SCD in Brugada syndrome patients in the FINGER (France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany) Brugada syndrome registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients were recruited in 11 tertiary centers in 4 European countries. Inclusion criteria consisted of a type 1 ECG present either at baseline or after drug challenge, after exclusion of diseases that mimic Brugada syndrome. The registry included 1029 consecutive individuals (745 men; 72%) with a median age of 45 (35 to 55) years. Diagnosis was based on (1) aborted SCD (6%); (2) syncope, otherwise unexplained (30%); and (3) asymptomatic patients (64%). During a median follow-up of 31.9 (14 to 54.4) months, 51 cardiac events (5%) occurred (44 patients experienced appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator shocks, and 7 died suddenly). The cardiac event rate per year was 7.7% in patients with aborted SCD, 1.9% in patients with syncope, and 0.5% in asymptomatic patients. Symptoms and spontaneous type 1 ECG were predictors of arrhythmic events, whereas gender, familial history of SCD, inducibility of ventricular tachyarrhythmias during electrophysiological study, and the presence of an SCN5A mutation were not predictive of arrhythmic events. CONCLUSIONS: In the largest series of Brugada syndrome patients thus far, event rates in asymptomatic patients were low. Inducibility of ventricular tachyarrhythmia and family history of SCD were not predictors of cardiac events.

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00910144/document

Long-Term Prognosis of Patients Diagnosed With Brugada Syndrome Results From the FINGER Brugada Syndrome Registry

BACKGROUND: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) prevent sudden death from cardiac causes in selected patients but require the use of transvenous lead systems. To eliminate the need for venous access, we designed and tested an entirely subcutaneous ICD system. METHODS: First, we conducted two shortterm clinical trials to identify a suitable device configuration and assess energy requirements. We evaluated four subcutaneous ICD configurations in 78 patients who were candidates for ICD implantation and subsequently tested the best configuration in 49 additional patients to determine the subcutaneous defibrillation thresh old in comparison with that of the standard transvenous ICD. Then we evaluated the longterm use of subcutaneous ICDs in a pilot study, involving 6 patients, which was followed by a trial involving 55 patients. RESULTS: The best device configuration consisted of a parasternal electrode and a left lateral thoracic pulse generator. This configuration was as effective as a transvenous ICD for terminating induced ventricular fibrillation, albeit with a significantly higher mean (±SD) energy requirement (36.6±19.8 J vs. 11.1±8.5 J). Among patients who received a permanent subcutaneous ICD, ventricular fibrillation was successfully detected in 100% of 137 induced episodes. Induced ventricular fibrillation was converted twice in 58 of 59 patients (98%) with the delivery of 65J shocks in two consecutive tests. Clinically significant adverse events included two pocket infections and four lead revisions. After a mean of 10±1 months, the device had successfully detected and treated all 12 episodes of spontaneous, sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmia. CONCLUSIONS: In small, nonrandomized studies, an entirely subcutaneous ICD consistently detected and converted ventricular fibrillation induced during electrophysiological testing. The device also successfully detected and treated all 12 episodes of spontaneous, sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmia. (ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT00399217 and NCT00853645.).

/pdf/an-entirely-subcutaneous-implantable-cardioverter-2mt613d047.pdf

An entirely subcutaneous implantable cardioverter–defibrillator.

2017 ACC/AHA/HRS guideline for the evaluation and management of patients with syncope: A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society

Background—Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator indications in Brugada syndrome remain controversial, especially in asymptomatic patients. Previous outcome data are limited by relatively small nu...

https://tamthuvn.com/Reprints/SacherBrugadaFollowup2006.pdf

Outcome After Implantation of a Cardioverter-Defibrillator in Patients With Brugada Syndrome

Background/Aim. Excitation–contraction coupling is modulated by nitric oxide (NO) which otherwise has either beneficial or detrimental effects on myocardial function during hypoxia-reoxygenation. This work aimed at characterizing the variations of electromechanical delay (EMD) induced by anoxia-reoxygenation within the developing heart and determining whether atrial and ventricular EMD are modulated by NO to the same extent. Methods. Hearts of 4 or 4.5-day-old chick embryos were excised and submitted in vitro to normoxia (45 min), anoxia (30 min) and reoxygenation (60 min). Electrocardiogram and atrial and ventricular contractions were simultaneously recorded throughout experiment. Anoxia-reoxygenation-induced chrono-, dromo- and inotropic disturbances and changes in EMD in atrium (EMDa) and ventricle (EMDv) were investigated in control hearts and in hearts exposed to 0.1, 1, 10, 50 and 100 μM of DETA-NONOate (a NO donating agent) or to 50 μM of L-NAME (a NOS inhibitor). Results. Under normoxia, heart rate, PR interval, ventricular shortening velocity, EMDa and EMDv were similar in control, L-NAME-treated and DETA-NONOate-treated hearts. Under anoxia, cardiac activity became markedly erratic within less than 10 min in all groups. At the onset of reoxygenation, EMDv was increased by about 300% with respect to the preanoxic value while EMDa did not vary significatively. Compared to control conditions, L-NAME or DETA-NONOate had no influence on the negative chrono-, dromo- and inotropic effects induced by anoxia-reoxygenation. However, L-NAME prolonged EMDv during anoxia and delayed EMDv recovery during reoxygenation while 100 μM DETA-NONOate had the opposite effects. EMDa was neither affected by NOS inhibitor nor NO donor. At the end of reoxygenation, all the investigated parameters returned to their basal values. Conclusion. This work provides evidence that a NO-dependent pathway is involved in regulation of the ventricular excitation-contraction coupling in the anoxic-reoxygenated developing heart. (Mol Cell Biochem 265: 141–149, 2004)

Antonio Rosa

Papers

Outcome After Implantation of a Cardioverter-Defibrillator in Patients With Brugada Syndrome

Ventricular but not atrial electro-mechanical delay of the embryonic heart is altered by anoxia-reoxygenation and improved by nitric oxide.

An ICD case: „Spike quiz“