Andrea Natale, MD @natale_md @tcainstitute #VT #ICM Epi Scar-Homogenization With VS Without Epicardial Ablation

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Andrea Natale M.D., F.A.C.C., F.H.R.S., F.E.S.C., Executive Medical Director, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David’s Medical Center at Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia. In this video, he speaks about Endocardial Scar-Homogenization With vs Without Epicardial Ablation in VT Patients With Ischemic Cardiomyopathy.

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Observation -

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Goals:

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The authors of this study compared the success of scar homogeneity with a mixed (epicarddial + endocardial) vs endocardial-only technique for ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) at 5 years of follow-up.

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Origins:

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The best ablation strategy for achieving long-term success in VT patients with ICM is unknown.

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Methodology:

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Patients with ICM who underwent VT ablation at our center were divided into two groups: endocardial + epicardial scar homogenization and endocardial scar homogenization. Patients who had already undergone open heart surgery were not eligible. Despite the fact that all group 1 patients were noninducible following endocardial ablation, epicardial ablation was done. All patients received bipolar substrate mapping with conventional scar settings of >1.5 mV for normal tissue and 0.5 mV for severe scar. The procedure\'s endpoint in both groups was noninducibility of monomorphic VT. Implantable device interrogations were performed on patients every 4 months for 5 years.

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Outcomes:

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The study included 361 participants (n = 70 in group 1 and n = 291 in group 2). At 5 years, 81.4 percent (n = 57/70) of group 1 patients and 66.3 percent (n = 193/291) of group 2 patients were arrhythmia-free (P = 0.01). Anti-arrhythmic medications (AAD) were used by 26 of 57 (45.6 percent) and 172 of 193 (89.1 percent) of the patients in groups 1 and 2 (log-rank P 0.001). Endo-epicarddial scar homogeneity was linked with a substantial reduction in arrhythmia recurrence after controlling for age, gender, and obstructive sleep apnea (HR: 0.48; 95 percent CI: 0.27-0.86; P = 0.02).

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Observations:

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Despite being noninducible following endocardial ablation, epicardial substrate was found in all group 1 patients in this series of patients with ICM and VT. Furthermore, when compared to endocardial ablation alone, combined endo-epicarddial scar homogeneity was linked with a much higher success rate at 5 years of follow-up and a significantly lower demand for antiarrhythmic medicines after the treatment.