The year in cardiovascular medicine 2022: the top 10 papers in arrhythmias.
1. Zeppenfeld K, Tfelt-Hansen J, de Riva M, Winkel BG, Behr ER, Blom NA, et al. 2022 ESC guidelines for the management of patients with ventricular arrhythmias and the prevention of sudden cardiac death.
Eur Heart J 2022;43:3997–4126. https://doi.org/10.1093/ eurheartj/ehac262 This document presents an update of the 2015 ESC Guidelines for the management of patients with ventricular arrhythmias and the prevention of sudden cardiac death.
2. Marrouche NF, Wazni O, McGann C, Greene T, Dean JM, Dagher L, et al. Effect of MRI-guided fibrosis ablation vs conventional catheter ablation on atrial arrhythmia recurrence in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation: the
DECAAF II randomized clinical trial.
JAMA 2022;327:2296–2305. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.8831
Among patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF), MRI-guided fibrosis ablation plus pulmonary veins isolation (PVI), compared with PVI catheter ablation only, resulted in no significant difference in atrial arrhythmia
recurrence. Findings do not support the use of MRI-guided fibrosis ablation for the treatment of persistent AF.
3. 3. Cerrone M, Marrón-Liñares GM, van Opbergen CJM, Costa S, Bourfiss M, Pérez-Hernández M, et al. Role of plakophilin-2 expression on exercise-related progression of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy: a translational study. Eur Heart J 2022;43:1251–1264. https://
doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehab772 We speculate that exercise challenges a
cardiomyocyte “desmosomal reserve” which, if impaired genetically (e.g., PKP2 loss), accelerates progression of cardiomyopathy.