Overview and Target Audience

The California Heart Rhythm Symposium aims to bring together basic scientists, clinical researchers and clinicians in academic and clinical practice in the field of cardiac electrophysiology. This symposium will provide a forum for presentation and discussion of the latest advances in the field with cardiac electrophysiologists, cardiologists, internists, and allied health professionals.

Objectives

At the conclusion of this conference, participants should be able to:

• Recognize the latest advances in the understanding of cardiac arrhythmias
• Summarize how these advances are translated into new therapies
• Apply these treatment advances to their own clinical practice

Needs Assessment

The California Heart Rhythm Symposium 2011 is building on the success of years past, presenting information on topics such as atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, and ventricular fibrillation. Rotating among UC campuses, UC San Diego last hosted this symposium in 2008. Data from the successful 2008 symposium reflects that approximately 54% of attendees opted to participate due to the topics alone. Moreover, a multitude of participants in the 2008 California Heart Rhythm Symposium reported the desire to make adjustments in clinical practice relative to information presented by event speakers, with approximately 43% of participants indicating at least a moderate confidence level in achieving these changes; thus, this symposium provides the opportunity to present current information on key educational topics from leading experts, providing participants with a broad and clinically relevant offering of bench-to-bedside presentations.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is defined as an irregularity of the electrical activity in the upper chambers (atria) of the heart that results in the atrial contraction becoming rapid (up to 300-500 beats per minute) and disorganized, which then results in an irregular heart beat (arrhythmia) (Heart Rhythm Society, 2006). Atrial fibrillation may cause symptoms such as palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, etc. AF is the most common arrhythmia resulting in hospital admission today, and it is associated with increased rates of morbidity and mortality. While not life-threatening in itself, AF may cause congestive heart failure, and it increases the risk of stroke by 15 – 20% (Heart Rhythm Society, 2006). Believed to affect upwards of 3 million people by 2025, those at increased risk are generally over age 65. Currently, approximately 10% of people aged 75 and over suffer from AF (Heart Rhythm Society, 2006). Recent advances in management strategies include innovative antiarrhythmic drugs, a novel drug for stroke prevention, and catheter ablation (Dagres et al., 2011).

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) make up the majority of ventricular arrhythmias. Typical conditions associated with VT/VF include coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, and cardiomyopathy. Data from the American Heart Association (2007) report 77,000 – 174,000 cardiac arrests per year in the U.S., with approximately 20 – 38% of these with primary VT/VF. According to Dagres and colleagues (2011), the most common treatment option for this type of arrhythmia is an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator, which can prevent sudden death and has resulted in improved survival benefits for affected patients. Generally, pharmacological management of VT/VF is considered an adjunct therapy to the defibrillator. Catheter ablation (non-pharmacological) may also be utilized in the management of patients with VT/VF (Dagres et al., 2011).

Recent advances in management strategies for common cardiac issues such as AF and VT/VF can improve long-term patient outcomes; however, additional education is needed regarding the epidemiology and etiology of AF and VT/VF, risk-benefit ratio of pharmacological versus device treatment or catheter ablation, up-to-date information on diagnosis and treatment from recent clinical trials, and how to relate this information to improved quality of care.

References

American Heart Association. Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest — Statistics. 2007. Retrieved March 31, 2011.

Dagres N, Sommer P, Anastasiou-Nana M, & Hindricks G. Treating arrhythmias: an expert opinion. Expert Opin. Pharmacother. 2011. Epub ahead of print.

Heart Rhythm Society. Atrial Fibrillation - The Common Arrhythmia. 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2011.