BACKGROUND: Left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) may be associated with greater improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction and reduction in death or heart failure hospitalization compared with biventricular pacing (BVP) in patients requiring cardiac resynchronization therapy. We sought to compare the occurrence of sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) and new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients undergoing BVP and LBBAP. METHODS: The I-CLAS study (International Collaborative LBBAP Study) included patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35% who underwent BVP or LBBAP for cardiac resynchronization therapy between January 2018 and June 2022 at 15 centers. We performed propensity score–matched analysis of LBBAP and BVP in a 1:1 ratio. We assessed the incidence of VT/VF and new-onset AF among patients with no history of AF. Time to sustained VT/VF and time to new-onset AF was analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards survival model. RESULTS: Among 1778 patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy (BVP, 981; LBBAP, 797), there were 1414 propensity score–matched patients (propensity score–matched BVP, 707; propensity score–matched LBBAP, 707). The occurrence of VT/VF was significantly lower with LBBAP compared with BVP (4.2% versus 9.3%; hazard ratio, 0.46 [95% CI, 0.29–0.74]; P 3 episodes in 24 hours) was also significantly lower with LBBAP compared with BVP (0.8% versus 2.5%; P =0.013). Among 299 patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers (BVP, 111; LBBAP, 188), VT/VF occurred in 8 patients in the BVP group versus none in the LBBAP group (7.2% versus 0%; P 30 s was significantly lower with LBBAP than with BVP (2.8% versus 6.6%; hazard ratio, 0.34 [95% CI, 0.16–0.73]; P =0.008). The incidence of AF lasting >24 hours was also significantly lower with LBBAP than with BVP (0.7% versus 2.9%; P =0.015). CONCLUSIONS: LBBAP was associated with a lower incidence of sustained VT/VF and new-onset AF compared with BVP. This difference remained significant after adjustment for differences in baseline characteristics between patients with BVP and LBBAP. Physiological resynchronization by LBBAP may be associated with lower risk of arrhythmias compared with BVP.

The prevalence of CVD in pregnant people is estimated to be around 1 to 4%, and it is imperative that clinicians that care for obstetric patients can promptly and accurately diagnose and manage common cardiovascular conditions as well as understand when to promptly refer to a high-risk obstetrics team for a multidisciplinary approach for managing more complex patients. In pregnant patients with CVD, arrhythmias and heart failure (HF) are the most common complications that arise. The difficulty in the management of these patients arises from variable degrees of severity of both arrhythmia and heart failure presentation. For example, arrhythmia-based complications in pregnancy can range from isolated premature ventricular contractions to life-threatening arrhythmias such as sustained ventricular tachycardia. HF also has variable manifestations in pregnant patients ranging from mild left ventricular impairment to patients with advanced heart failure with acute decompensated HF. In high-risk patients, a collaboration between the general obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine, and cardiovascular teams (which may include cardio-obstetrics, electrophysiology, adult congenital, or advanced HF)—physicians, nurses and allied professionals—can provide the multidisciplinary approach necessary to properly risk-stratify these women and provide appropriate management to improve outcomes.

Arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death with sexual activity are rare. However, the demographics are changing regarding the cardiovascular patients at risk for these events. Recent studies have highlighted that the individuals having cardiac events during sexual activity are becoming younger, with a higher proportion of female decedents than previously described. There needs to be an open dialog between the cardiovascular team and the cardiac patient to provide the education and reassurance necessary for cardiovascular patients to participate in sexual intercourse safely. This paper reviews how sexual activity can lead to an increase in cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrest in patients that are not medically optimized or are unaware of their underlying cardiac condition. The most common cardiovascular diseases associated with sexually induced arrhythmias and arrest are discussed regarding their potential risk and the psychosocial impact of this risk on these patients. Finally, cardiovascular medications and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are addressed by reviewing the literature on the safety profile of these cardiac interventions in this patient population. Overall, sexual activity is safe for most cardiac patients, and providing proper education to the patient and their partner can improve the safety profile for patients with higher risk cardiovascular conditions. To give the appropriate education and reassurance necessary, cardiovascular team members need an understanding of the pathophysiology of how sexual activity can provoke arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrest. Healthcare providers also need to build comfort in speaking to all patients and ensure that sexual partners, female patients, and those in the LGBTQIA + community receive the same access to counseling but tailored to their individual needs.

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with ischaemic and non-ischaemic cardiomyopathies. In most patients, the primary strategy of VT catheter ablation is based on the identification of critical components of reentry circuits and modification of abnormal substrate which can initiate reentry. Despite technological advancements in catheter design and improved ability to localise abnormal substrates, putative circuits and site of origins of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs), current technologies remain inadequate and durable success may be elusive when the critical substrate is deep or near to critical structures that are at risk of collateral damage. In this article, we review the available and potential future non-surgical investigational approaches for treatment of VAs and discuss the viability of these modalities.