Heart failure in children is an increasingly recognized clinical entity. Etiologies are diverse and treatment options are expanding. Although the evidence base for the treatment of heart failure in adults is well developed, much less is known about the efficacy of available treatments in children with heart failure. This chapter focuses on the mechanisms, etiologies, treatment options, and outcomes in children with heart failure secondary to systemic ventricular dysfunction.
•Right atrial dissection is a potentially life-threatening complication after ablation.•Hemodynamic instability may occur and can be rapidly progressive.•Agitated saline contrast echocardiography may help diagnose intracardiac dissection.
Abstract Ventricular arrhythmias are an important cause of morbidity and mortality and come in a variety of forms, from single premature ventricular complexes to sustained ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation. Rapid developments have taken place over the past decade in our understanding of these arrhythmias and in our ability to diagnose and treat them. The field of catheter ablation has progressed with the development of new methods and tools, and with the publication of large clinical trials. Therefore, global cardiac electrophysiology professional societies undertook to outline recommendations and best practices for these procedures in a document that will update and replace the 2009 EHRA / HRS Expert Consensus on Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Arrhythmias. An expert writing group, after reviewing and discussing the literature, including a systematic review and meta‐analysis published in conjunction with this document, and drawing on their own experience, drafted and voted on recommendations and summarized current knowledge and practice in the field. Each recommendation is presented in knowledge byte format and is accompanied by supportive text and references. Further sections provide a practical synopsis of the various techniques and of the specific ventricular arrhythmia sites and substrates encountered in the electrophysiology lab. The purpose of this document is to help electrophysiologists around the world to appropriately select patients for catheter ablation, to perform procedures in a safe and efficacious manner, and to provide follow‐up and adjunctive care in order to obtain the best possible outcomes for patients with ventricular arrhythmias.
