BACKGROUND: The accurate incidence of different cardiovascular consequences of COVID-19 in the pediatric population has been inadequately defined due to ongoing genotype changes in the virus. Although COVID-19 is known to increase inflammatory markers associated with atrial arrhythmias, the contemporary literature has poorly described new onset arrhythmias as a complication in previously healthy neonates with COVID-19.
METHODS: A twenty-day-old female term neonate, born by caesarean section with immediate cry, developed labored breathing, cyanosis, and tachycardia after having close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19. The neonate developed atrial flutter, which was refractory to cardioversion and drugs, namely Amiodarone, Flecainide, and Propranolol. The authors treated the neonate with IVIG. This is the first reported case of atrial flutter in the neonatal period secondary to COVID-19.
CONCLUSIONS: Since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, all attention and concerns have been mainly on respiratory manifestations and complications. The cardiovascular complications and treatment have been neglected. This case reports tachyarrhythmia (Atrial Flutter) as an unusual presentation of acute COVID-19 in the neonatal population and shows the role of IVIG in the treatment of refractory arrhythmias.

Patients with atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter (AF) are notoriously predisposed to thromboembolic events secondary to the development of thrombi within the left atrium of the heart. AF accompanied by a fairly decent CHA2DS2-VASc score is a known indication for full anticoagulation, frequently with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), such as apixaban. Following extensive studies weighing the benefits of anticoagulation versus risks of major bleeding, patients meeting two or more of the dose-reduction criteria (age ≥80 years, weight ≤60 kg, and/or creatinine ≥ 1.5 mg/dL) require appropriate step-down to a reduced dose of apixaban. However, with rising concern for bleeding complications, many physicians are found to have been reducing the dose of apixaban despite the patient not completely meeting the defined criteria. Our study particularly emphasizes the risk of significantly increased thromboembolic complications in the setting of sub-therapeutic anticoagulation, in patients with both appropriately and inappropriately reduced doses of apixaban.

Background: This systematic review explores the effects of landiolol administration in individuals presenting with supraventricular tachyarrhythmia (SVT) and concurrent left ventricular dysfunction, without being septic or in a peri-operative period. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, retrieving a total of 15 eligible studies according to prespecified eligibility criteria. Results: Patients treated with landiolol experienced a substantial reduction in heart rate (HR) (mean HR reduction: 42 bpm, 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 37-47, I2 = 82%) and were more likely to achieve the target HR compared to those receiving alternative antiarrhythmic therapy (pooled odds ratio (OR): 5.37, 95% CIs: 2.87-10.05, I2 = 0%). Adverse events, primarily hypotension, occurred in 14.7% of patients receiving landiolol, but no significant difference was observed between the landiolol and alternative antiarrhythmic receiving groups (pooled OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.57-1.83, I2 = 0%). No significant difference was observed between the two groups concerning sinus rhythm restoration (pooled OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.25-3.78, I2 = 0%) and drug discontinuation due to adverse events (pooled OR: 5.09, 95% CI: 0.6-43.38, I2 = 0%). Conclusion: While further research is warranted, this systematic review highlights the potential benefits of landiolol administration in the management of SVTs in the context of left ventricular dysfunction.

UNASSIGNED: We conducted a study to evaluate the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL) in periodontal disease (PD) patients.
UNASSIGNED: Cohort studies that evaluate the risk of AF or AFL in PD patients were included. The risk was expressed in the pooled odd ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI).
UNASSIGNED: A total of four cohort studies were included. We found that patients with PD have a significantly higher risk of AF/AFL compared to those without PD with the pooled OR of 1.33 (95% CI 1.29-1.38; p = 0.357, I 2 = 3.0%).
UNASSIGNED: PD increases the risk of AF and AFL.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is the cornerstone of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF); however, the results are suboptimal for persistent AF. The left atrial posterior wall (LAPW) is thought to be a major additional area in initiation and perpetuation of persistent AF. Therefore, adjunctive ablation of the posterior wall may reduce AF recurrence in patients with persistent AF.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare outcomes of catheter ablation in patients with persistent AF using PVI alone versus a combination of PVI and LAPW isolation.
METHODS: Literature search was conducted in PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, and Embase since inception to February 2023. Screening of studies was done via Covidence software. Risk of bias assessment was done using appropriate tools. Data extraction and a narrative synthesis were carried out accordingly.
RESULTS: Ten studies were included, of which five were randomized controlled trials. PVI with LAPW ablation group had significantly lower recurrence of overall atrial tachyarrhythmia (OR 0.47, CI 0.32-0.70) and AF (OR 0.39, CI 0.23-0.69). In sensitivity analysis, freedom from atrial arrhythmias was noted to be significantly higher in the PVI with LAPW ablation group (OR 2.22, CI 1.36-3.64). However, there was no significant difference in occurrence of atrial flutter (OR 1.36, CI 0.86-2.14) or with periprocedural adverse events (OR 1.10, CI 0.60-1.99).
CONCLUSIONS: LAPW ablation, in addition to PVI, significantly improves the rates of arrhythmia freedom and reduces the recurrence of overall atrial tachyarrhythmia. There was no significant difference in atrial flutter or periprocedural adverse events.

BACKGROUND: Intravenous beta-blockers are commonly used to manage patients with acute atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFl), but the choice of specific agent is often not evidence-based.
METHODS: A prospectively-registered systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials (PROSPERO: CRD42020204772) to compare the safety and efficacy of intravenous beta-blockers against alternative pharmacological agents.
RESULTS: Twelve trials comparing beta-blockers with diltiazem, digoxin, verapamil, anti-arrhythmic drugs and placebo were included, with variable risk of bias and 1152 participants. With high heterogeneity (I2 = 87%; p < 0.001), there was no difference in the primary outcomes of heart rate reduction (standardised mean difference - 0.65 beats/minute compared to control, 95% CI - 1.63 to 0.32; p = 0.19) or the proportion that achieved target heart rate (risk ratio [RR] 0.85, 95% CI 0.36-1.97; p = 0.70). Conventional selective beta-1 blockers were inferior for target heart rate reduction versus control (RR 0.33, 0.17-0.64; p < 0.001), whereas super-selective beta-1 blockers were superior (RR 1.98, 1.54-2.54; p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between beta-blockers and comparators for secondary outcomes of conversion to sinus rhythm (RR 1.15, 0.90-1.46; p = 0.28), hypotension (RR 1.85, 0.87-3.93; p = 0.11), bradycardia (RR 1.29, 0.25-6.82; p = 0.76) or adverse events leading to drug discontinuation (RR 1.03, 0.49-2.17; p = 0.93). The incidence of hypotension and bradycardia were greater with non-selective beta-blockers (p = 0.031 and p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Across all intravenous beta-blockers, there was no difference with other medications for acute heart rate control in atrial fibrillation and flutter. Efficacy and safety may be improved by choosing beta-blockers with higher beta-1 selectivity.

BACKGROUND: In neonates, cardiac arrhythmias are rare. Electric countershock therapy is an effective alternative to drug therapy for neonatal arrhythmias. There are no randomized controlled studies investigating electric countershock therapy in neonates.
OBJECTIVE: To identify all studies and publications describing electric countershock therapy (including defibrillation, cardioversion, and pacing) in newborn infants within 28 days after birth, and to provide a comprehensive review of this treatment modality and associated outcomes.
METHODS: For this systematic review we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). All articles reporting electric countershock therapy in newborn infants within 28 days after birth were included.
RESULTS: In terms of figures, 113 neonates who received electric countershock due to arrhythmias were reported. Atrial flutter (76.1%) was the most common arrhythmia, followed by supraventricular tachycardia (13.3%). Others were ventricular tachycardia (9.7%) and torsade de pointes (0.9%). The main type of electric countershock therapy was synchronized cardioversion (79.6%). Transesophageal pacing was used in twenty neonates (17.7%), and defibrillation was used in five neonates (4.4%).
CONCLUSIONS: Electric countershock therapy is an effective treatment option in the neonatal period. In atrial flutter especially, excellent outcomes are reported with direct synchronized electric cardioversion.

The association of Parkinson\'s Disease (PD) with atrial fibrillation (AF) is not well established and previous studies\' results were heterogeneous. This review aimed to evaluate if patients with PD are at increased risk of having AF. MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Web of Science, were searched from inception May 2021. Two reviewers independently selected observational studies with data allowing to estimate the risk of atrial fibrillation in PD patients compared with no-PD controls. Pooled estimates Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were derived through meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 test. The risk of bias of individual studies was evaluated using the ROBINS-I tool. The study protocol was registered at PROSPERO: CRD42020216572. Seven studies were included: five case-control studies and two cohort studies. Three of the studies included were a population-based study. No significant difference was detected between PD and controls regarding atrial fibrillation (OR 1.10, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.49). Early PD present a significant higher risk of AF (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.40, I2 98%). The overall risk of bias was serious, with only two studies being considered as having moderate risk. The best evidence available do not support that there is an increased risk of AF in PD patients. Further studies are needed to better conclude if there is a relation between AF and PD.

Over the past few years, smartwatches have become increasingly popular in the monitoring of arrhythmias. Although the detection of atrial fibrillation with smartwatches has been the subject of various articles, there is no comprehensive research on the detection of arrhythmias other than atrial fibrillation. In this study, we included individual cases from the literature to identify the characteristics of patients with smartwatch-detected arrhythmias other than atrial fibrillation.
PubMed, Embase, and SCOPUS were searched for case reports, case series, or cohort studies that reported individual participant-level data, until January 6, 2022. The following search string was used for each databases: (\'Smart Watch\' OR \'Apple Watch\' OR \'Samsung Gear\') AND (\'Supraventricular Tachycardia\' OR \'Cardiac Arrhythmia\' OR \'Ventricular Tachycardia\' OR \'Atrioventricular Nodal Reentry Tachycardia\' OR \'Atrioventricular Reentrant Tachycardia\' OR \'Heart Block\' OR \'Atrial Flutter\' OR \'Ectopic Atrial Tachycardia\' OR \'Bradyarrhythmia\').
A total of 52 studies from PubMed, 20 studies from Embase, and 200 studies from SCOPUS were identified. After screening, 18 articles were included. A total of 22 patients were obtained from 14 case reports or case series. Four cohort studies evaluating various arrhythmias were included. Arrhythmias, including ventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia, atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia, second- or third-degree atrioventricular block, and sinus bradycardia, were detected with smartwatches.
Cardiac arrhythmias other than atrial fibrillation are also commonly detected with smartwatches. Smartwatches have an important potential besides traditional methods in the detection of arrhythmias and clinical practice.

UNASSIGNED: Contact force (CF) and related parameters have been evaluated as an effective guide mark for pulmonary vein isolation, yet not for linear ablation of the cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) dependent atrial flutter (AFL). We thus studied the efficacy and safety of CF related parameter-guided ablation for CTI-AFL.
UNASSIGNED: Systematic search was performed on databases involving PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science (through June 2022). Original articles comparing CF related parameter-guided ablation and conventional parameter-guided ablation for CTI-AFL were included. One-by-one elimination, subgroup analysis and meta-regression were used for heterogeneity test between studies.
UNASSIGNED: Ten studies reporting on 761 patients were identified after screening with inclusion and exclusion criteria. Radiofrequency (RF) duration was significantly shorter in CF related parameter-guided group (p = 0.01), while procedural time (p = 0.13) and fluoroscopy time (p = 0.07) were no significant difference between two groups. CF related parameter-guided group had less RF lesions (p = 0.0003) and greater CF of catheter-tissue (p = 0.0002). Touch-up needed after first ablation line was less in CF related parameter-guided group (p = 0.004). In addition, there were no statistical significance between two groups on acute conduction recovery rates (p = 0.25), recurrence rates (p = 0.92), and complication rates (p = 0.80). Meta-regression analysis revealed no specific covariate as an influencing factor for above results (p > 0.10).
UNASSIGNED: CF related parameters guidance improves the efficiency of CTI ablation, with the better catheter-tissue contact, the lower RF duration and the comparable safety as compared with conventional method, but does not improve the acute success rate and long-term outcome.