New 2012 HRS/EHRA/ECAS Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Guidelines presented by Dr. Hugh Calkins — Video
January 24, 2012
- Summary: In this video, Dr. Hugh Calkins, Johns Hopkins electrophysiologist, discusses the new 2012 atrial fibrillation guidelines for catheter ablation and surgical ablation, which he presented at Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2012.
- Reading and watching time is approximately 7–8 minutes
At Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2012, Dr. Hugh Calkins, electrophysiologist at Johns Hopkins, presented the new 2012 HRS/EHRA/ECAS Expert Consensus Statement on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation, which will replace the original guidelines that were published in 2007. Instead of simply rewriting sections that have changed, the writing committee, which was made up of 45 members from medical societies around the globe, rewrote the entire document.
In this video interview, Dr. Calkins discussed four major areas that are new or different in the 2012 guidelines:
- Recommendations as to when catheter ablation, standalone minimally invasive surgical ablation (sometimes called mini maze), and concomitant surgical ablation (simultaneous with valve repair or bypass) are appropriate, including the use of scores that identify the amount of evidence for these recommendations.
- Recommendations for anticoagulation (blood thinners) before, during, and after ablation. These recommendations include that continuation of warfarin during ablation is safe and effective, that CHA2DS2-VASc should be used to identify which patients with a CHADS2 score of 1 are at high risk, that anticoagulation should be continued after ablation, and information on the use of new anticoagulants (blood thinners).
- Dictionary of 53 standardized definitions to allow us to all speak the same language.
- Guidelines for conducting clinical trials.
The guidelines are currently in the process of being endorsed by medical societies around the globe, and should be published online simultaneously in February or March in the following three journals:
- Europace, the European Journal of Pacing, Arrhythmias and Cardiac Electrophysiology of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)
- Heart Rhythm, the Journal of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS)
- Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology (JICE)
Dr. Calkins also acknowledged the work of co-chairs Dr. Karl-Heinz Kuck and Dr. Riccardo Cappato.
UPDATE: The 2012 HRS/EHRA/ECAS Expert Consensus Statement has now been published and is available for downloading at Expert Consensus Statement on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation.
View the video interview with Dr. Calkins (6 minutes):
View our interview with Dr. Calkins in early 2011 about rewriting the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Guidelines
Disclosure: Drs. Calkins and Cappato are members of the StopAfib.org Medical Advisory Board.
About Hugh Calkins, MD:
Cardiac Electrophysiologist
Professor of Cardiology and Director of the Clinical Electrophysiology Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD
Dr. Hugh Calkins is the Nicholas J. Fortuin M.D. Professor of Cardiology and Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also is the Director of the Clinical Electrophysiology Laboratory, the Arrhythmia Service, and the Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia Program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
He attended Williams College and Harvard Medical School before training in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He received his cardiology fellowship training at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Calkins trained in electrophysiology at Johns Hopkins and at the University of Michigan. His first faculty position was at the University of Michigan. He returned to Johns Hopkins as Director of the Clinical Electrophysiology Laboratory and Arrhythmia Service in 2002.
Dr. Calkins has published more than 350 manuscripts and more than 50 book chapters, and is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology.
Dr. Calkins’ profile, publications, and contact info
Video Transcript: Coming Soon