Letter from the ESC Congress Programme Committee Chair

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to present this issue of ESC Congress 2017 in Review, focused on the topic of arrhythmias. The peer-reviewed highlights in this issue are based on presentations at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2017 held in Barcelona, Spain.

The feature article takes a closer look at evolving treatments for atrial fibrillation, including the use of antiarrhythmic drugs, ablation, and whether the cumulative evidence on oral anticoagulation in the general population is comparable to the results from large randomised controlled trials. Additional articles look back on 4 decades of development and experiences with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) to treat patients with cardiomyopathies, areas of uncertainty in the use of anticoagulation for cardioversion, and highlights of new trials that may guide future developments in ICD and cardiac resynchronisation therapy.

The Hot Line trials covered in this issue include RE-DUAL PCI and IMPACT-AF. Data from RE-DUAL PCI showed that dual antithrombotic therapy with dabigatran and a P2Y12 inhibitor was superior to triple therapy with warfarin at preventing bleeding after percutaneous coronary intervention among AF patients. Results from IMPACT-AF indicated that a customised, multilevel educational intervention, with appropriate monitoring and follow-up, increases the use of oral anticoagulants in patients with AF, compared with usual care.

We are confident that the articles and practical perspectives presented in ESC Congress 2017 in Review - Focus on Arrhythmias will provide you with new insights into several areas of treatment of patients with AF. Please be reminded that in order to access ESC Congress content (videos, slides, abstracts, reports, and ESC TV interviews) all year long, you can visit us any time online at www.escardio.org/365.

We hope to see you in Munich for ESC Congress 2018. For more information, please visit www.escardio.org/ESC2018.

Professor Stephan Achenbach, FESC
Chairman, ESC Congress Programme Committee 2016-2018



Posted on 30 August, 201717 March, 2021