 | Simultaneously published in the Europace and European Heart Journals and for the first time in Europe, new guidelines for cardiac pacing and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) were recently released in Europe by the European Society of Cardiology in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association. It received extended press coverage and interest during the ESC Congress in Vienna. |
These guidelines aim to provide an up to date specialists' view of the field. The guidelines cover two main areas: the first includes permanent pacing in bradyarrhythmias, syncope, and other specific conditions, whilst the second refers to ventricular resynchronisation as an adjunct therapy in patients with heart failure.
As Prof. Panos
Vardas, chairperson of the "ESC Guidelines Task Force
for Cardiac Pacing and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy" and President-Elect of EHRA pointed out “thanks to important developments in technology and advances in essential knowledge concerning the physiology of the paced beat, patients with sinus node dysfunction and atrioventricular conduction system defects can now receive high quality therapy. Following these and other developments, over the last few years electrical stimulation has advanced further into the realm of ventricular resynchronization as an adjunctive therapy for patients with drug-refractory heart failure and ventricular conduction delay.”
It is the ongoing goal of the European Society of Cardiology to formulate, produce and update ESC Guidelines through the Committee for Practice Guidelines chaired by Prof. A. Vahanian. Guidelines are then widely implemented across Europe in collaboration with the national cardiac societies. Implementation at national level may be adapted for country-specific requirements; however they play a pivotal role in contributing to a well-orchestrated European system of cardiology.
Access the ESC Guidelines on Cardiac Pacing and CRT here ("My ESC" login required)