Are You Kidding Me? A Leadless Pacemaker by Medtronics?

I visited this great blog and poked around. If you have an ICD, check it out, and also read about this new gadget by Medtronics, information about it was posted on October 29, 2010.


Here is TED's update about this promising alternative to the current device and lead system.

Article about Brugada Syndrome For Nursing Students Works

Leslie Foran Lee and Nancy Felmlee, staff development specialists in clinical education and research at Virtua Health, Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, provide an excellent overview of Brugada Syndrome in this article, published this past spring in Nursing 2010, a peer reviewed journal.

While the article covers the history of Brugada Syndrome and the distinctive features of the disease, it also addresses the practical knowledge that hands-on medical professionals must know.

For example, after a thorough section on the key elements in recognizing Brugada Syndrome, they suggest how to slightly adjust the leads on an ECG reading of a patient with symptoms that may point to Brugada Syndrome, so as "to capture a complete right bundle-branch block or type 1 ECG pattern".

A section entitled, "On The Alert" reminds readers that, now knowing about Brugada Syndrome and its distinctive features, they should be diligent about taking patient histories, probing about symptoms, and helping ensure that Brugada patients get the appropriate care and follow up.

A reassuring read for the Brugada Syndrome patient, or the professional health care provider.

Students Create Informative Presentation on Brugada Syndrome

Check out this video, less than 7 minutes long, in which two high school students, Alburuj Rahman and Yared Selemon, do a nice job describing the basics of Brugada Syndrome. Watch this video - their "Mastery Project for Biomedical Engineering of the Bodies Program about a cardiovascular disease."

I especially appreciated their detailed explanation of the polarization phases of the heart beat, and what happens differently when Brugada Syndrome is involved.

Nice job!

Have you ever watched an ICD at work in a real life situation?

Interesting video on YouTube of a Belgian soccer player, with an ICD, experiencing sudden cardiac death on the field.

This cardiologist blogs about it, and posts a follow up video featuring an interview with the 20-year-old footballer, who is just fine now.

NEW STUDY QUESTIONS ICD IN ASYMPTOMATIC BRUGADA SYNDROME CASES

A report posted on February 3 of this year, involving 1029 Brudaga Syndrome patients followed for nearly three years, suggests that perhaps the 2005 guidelines for treating asymptomatic patients might need to be revised.

While maintaining a tentative tone, the study indicates that only 0.5% of asymptomatic patients (no history of sudden cardiac death episodes or syncope) experienced any cardiac events during a 31 month period. Currently certain conditions such as sudden cardiac death among immediate relatives, or inducibile ventricular tachyarrhythmias during E.P. studies warrant treatment with an implantable defibrillator(ICD).

Future studies are recommended.