Key Features * Provides a detailed review of the unique challenges presented by young patients with small heart size, and patients of any age with distorted anatomy due to congenital heart disease, in this long overdue, updated text. * Intends to guide all cardiologists engaged in invasive electrophysiology at both the training level and established practice who are exposed to such exceptional cases. * Includes an internationally recognized group of experts who discuss the technical approach, success rate, complication rate, and special precautions needed to achieve optimal outcomes.

The past 10 years have seen a remarkable change in the approach to cardiac arrhythmias, from a position of confidence and a feeling of well-being about pharmacological treatment to a situation in which there is now marked uncertainty and general apprehension about the role of antiarrhythmic drugs. Until relatively recently the prevailing concept in antiarrhythmic therapy was that arrhythmias could be controlled by drugs which slowed conduction or suppressed automaticity, goals well served by the sodium channel-blocking drugs and glycosides. Drug re search was based largely on the development of agents mimicking those already available, but with greater efficacy, fewer side effects or a more favourable phar macokinetic profile. The CAST trial stands out as a landmark in the evolution of arrhytmia manage ment; rarely has a single trial had such a profound impact not only on clinical prac tice, but also on the whole approach of those involved in the research, development and regulation of antiarrhythmic drugs. The results of the CAST trial, designed to redress the shortcomings of earlier trials which had failed to demonstrate the anticipated improvement in mortality post-myocardial infarction with the use of class I agents, are well known. The CAST and CAST II showed an increase in mor tality associated with the active agent (encainide, flecainide or morizicine) com pared to placebo treatment. They firmly established the potential danger in the use of class I drugs."

This issue of Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics, Guest Edited by Drs. Mohammad Shenasa, Prashanthan Sanders, and Stanley Nattel, is dedicated to Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation: Appraisal of AF Risk Stratification. This is one of four issues selected each year by the series Consulting Editors, Ranjan K. Thakur and Andrea Natale. Topics include, but are not limited to, Epidemiology of Atrial Fibrillation; Hypertension, Prehypertension, Hypertensive Heart Disease and Atrial Fibrillation; Pulmonary Disease, Pulmonary Hypertension and Atrial Fibrillation; Heart Failure with Preserved (HFpEF) and Reduced (HFrEF) LV Systolic Function, Diastolic Dysfunction; Coronary Artery Disease; ECG and Echo Abnormalities in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Risk Factors; Diabetes and Endocrine Disorders; Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Atrial Fibrillation; Renal Disease; Sleep Apnea and Atrial Fibrillation; Channelopathies in Atrial Fibrillation; Implications of Inflammation and Myocardial Fibrosis in Atrial Fibrillation; Role of Biomarkers in Atrial Fibrillation; Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Other Cardiomyopathies in Atrial Fibrillation; Atrial Fibrillation in Valvular Heart Disease; Atrial Fibrillation in Adult Congenital Heart Disease; Exercise and Athletic Activity in Atrial Fibrillation; Post-op Atrial Fibrillation; Autonomic Dysfunction and Neurohormonal Disorders in Atrial Fibrillation; Social Risk Factors; Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke; Screening for Atrial Fibrillation Risk Factors; Primary Care and Internists Perspective on Atrial Fibrillation Risk Factors; and Lifestyle as a Risk Factor for Atrial Fibrillation.

This issue of Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics, guest edited by Mohammad Shenasa and Amin Al-Ahmad, is the second part of our Advances in Cardiac Mapping and Catheter Ablation issue. Article topics will include, but are not limited to, New Findings in Atrial Fibrillation Mechanisms; Mapping and Ablation of Neuraxial in Patients with Ventricular Arrhythmias; How to Map and Ablate Rotors in Atrial Fibrillation; Post-ablation Atrial Arrhythmias; Substrate Mapping in Atrial Arrhythmias; Substrate Mapping in Ventricular Arrhythmias; Challenges in Ablation of Complex Congenital Heart Disease; Mapping and Ablation of Ventricular Arrhythmias from the RV and LV Outflow Tract; Novel Insights on Idiopathic VF and Early Repolarization; Novel Observations in Mapping and Ablation in Brugada Syndrome; Ablations of Ventricular Arrhythmias; Mapping and Ablation of Arrhythmias from uncommon sites; Mapping and Ablation of VT in Patients with HF and Cardiomyopathies; Mapping and Ablation of Unmappable VT, VT Storm, and Those in Acute Myocardial Infarction; Mapping and Ablation of Ventricle Arrhythmia in patients of LVAD; Fluoroless Catheter Ablation of Cardiac Arrhythmias; Toward a Uniform Ablation Protocol for Paroxysmal; Persistent and Permanent AF; and The Ideal Mapping System.

This issue of Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics, edited by Drs. Mohammad Shenasa, N. A. Mark Estes III, and Gordon F. Tomaselli, will cover Contemporary Challenges in Sudden Cardiac Death. Topics covered in this issue include Pathophysiology; Basic electrophysiological mechanism; Channelopathy and Myopathy as causes of sudden cardiac death; Public access to defibrillation; Sudden cardiac death in children adolescence; Sudden cardiac death in specific cardiomyopathies; Ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death; lessons learned from cardiac implantable rhythm devices; future directions, and more.

This issue of Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics examines Arrhythmias in Cardiomyopathies. Articles include Atrial and Ventricular Arrhythmias in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Its Variants; Role of Cardiac MRI in Risk Stratification of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy; Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy; Exercise-Induced Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy; Dilated Cardiomyopathy; Sarcoidosis; Amyloidosis; Chagas Disease; Fabry Disease; Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: Ventricular Arrhythmias and SCD; Left Ventricular Non-compaction; Mitochondrial Cardiomyopathy and Related Arrhythmias; Arrhythmias in Viral Myocarditis and Pericarditis Cardiomyopathy; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy; Post-partum Cardiomyopathy; Arrhythmias in Alcohol- and Drug-Associated Cardiomyopathies; Arrhythmias in Neuromuscular Dystrophies; Cardiomyopathies Related to Anti-cancer Therapy- and Radiation- Induced Heart Disease; Arrhythmias After Myocardial Stem Cell Therapy; and more.

Atrial Fibrillation is becoming a twenty-first century epidemic. It remains the most common form of sustained arrhythmia with significant mortality, morbidity and cost to the health care system. It is the most common cause of hospital admissions among all arrhythmias. Its prevalence increases with the aging population and is often associated with many other cardiac and noncardiac conditions, most notably congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease. Although significant progress in understanding the epidemiology, natural history and mechanism has been made, the antiarrhythmic therapy in patients with Atrial Fibrillation is less satisfactory. Management of Atrial Fibrillation: A Practical Approach is the perfect pocket guide for those who care for patients afflicted by Atrial Fibrillation. From the history of the condition and the subsets of patients, to therapeutic and preventive procedures, Management of Atrial Fibrillation comprehensively covers all aspects in managing this increasingly prevalent disorder. Written by leading authorities in the field with vast experience in practical medicine, the book creates a clinically orientated, evidence based "fast fact" type resource for cardiologists, trainees and related healthcare professionals.

This issue of Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics examines electrocardiography of complex arrhythmias. Topics include concealed conduction, right and left atrial macroreentrant tachycardias, focal atrial fachycardias, AV nodal and AV reentrant tachycardia, wide complex tachycardias, ventricular tachycardia in CAD, ECG characteristics of outflow tract VT, fascicular tachycardias, VT in non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, VT originating from unusual sites, incessant VT and VT storms, ECG characteristics of TdP, VT in ARVC, and ventricular arrhythmia in inherited channelopathies, arrrhythmias in complex congenital heart disease, AV conduction disease and block, electrocardiographic analysis of paced rhythms.

This issue of Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics, edited by Drs. Mohammad Shenasa and Stanley Nattel, will review Cardiac Potassium Channel Disorders in depth. Topics covered include but are not limited to: Molecular Biology of Cardiac Potassium Channels; Genetic Control of Potassium Channels; Potassium Channel Remodeling in Heart Disease; Gender-specific Effects of Potassium Channel Blockers; Pharmacogenetics of Potassium Channel Blockers; Multichannel Blockers; Selective Potassium Channel Blockers; and Proarrhythmic and Torsadogenic Effects of Potassium Channel Blockers in Patients.

This issue of Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics, guest edited by Mohammad Shenasa and Amin Al-Ahmad, will focus on Advances in Cardiac Mapping and Catheter Ablation. This is part one of a two-part issue and will include articles centered around Basic Concepts in Cardiac Mapping, Novel Mapping & Imaging Systems & Technologies, and Catheter and Energy Sources. Topics include, but are not limited to, Embryology of the Cardiac Conduction System Relevant to Cardiac Arrhythmias; Anatomical Consideration Relevant to Atrial and Ventricular Arrhythmias; Fundamentals of Cardiac Mapping; Novel Cardiac Mapping Systems; Non-invasive Mapping & ECGI in Atrial and Ventricular Arrhythmias; Optical Mapping; Omnipolar Mapping; Cardiac CT, MRI, and Fibrosis Quantification; High resolution mapping in patients with atrial and ventricular arrhythmias; Contact Force and Ablation Index; and New Catheter Balloons Including Radiofrequency.