Simon Ermakov1, Edward P Gerstenfeld2, Yana Svetlichnaya2, Melvin M Scheinman2. 1. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Electronic address: Simon.Ermakov@ucsf.edu. 2. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Antiarrhythmic therapy is commonly used for suppression of arrhythmias in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) in conjunction with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and catheter ablation. The efficacy of combination flecainide and sotalol/metoprolol therapy for patients refractory to single agents and/or catheter ablation has not been well established. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe our experience with the addition of flecainide in combination with sotalol/metoprolol for treatment of arrhythmias in patients with ARVC. METHODS: We reviewed all patients within our genetic arrhythmia program with a definite diagnosis of ARVC (45 patients) and identified 8 patients treated with a combination of flecainide with sotalol/metoprolol after failure of single-agent therapy and/or catheter ablation. These patients were monitored with at least yearly clinic visits and device interrogations focused on the detection of major ventricular arrhythmias. RESULTS: Of the 8 patients reviewed, 6 demonstrated excellent arrhythmia control after initiation of combination therapy with flecainide and sotalol/metoprolol. These patients have been arrhythmia-free for an average of 35.5 months. Two patients have demonstrated recurrent arrhythmias despite combination therapy and have undergone repeat epicardial and endocardial ablation. Recurrence was noted to occur within 2 months of therapy. Patients were diverse with regard to the severity of disease as well as in the presence of genetic mutations. CONCLUSION: The addition of flecainide in combination with sotalol/metoprolol may be an effective antiarrhythmic strategy for the control of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with ARVC refractory to single-agent therapy and/or catheter ablation.
BACKGROUND: Antiarrhythmic therapy is commonly used for suppression of arrhythmias in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) in conjunction with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and catheter ablation. The efficacy of combination flecainide and sotalol/metoprolol therapy for patients refractory to single agents and/or catheter ablation has not been well established. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe our experience with the addition of flecainide in combination with sotalol/metoprolol for treatment of arrhythmias in patients with ARVC. METHODS: We reviewed all patients within our genetic arrhythmia program with a definite diagnosis of ARVC (45 patients) and identified 8 patients treated with a combination of flecainide with sotalol/metoprolol after failure of single-agent therapy and/or catheter ablation. These patients were monitored with at least yearly clinic visits and device interrogations focused on the detection of major ventricular arrhythmias. RESULTS: Of the 8 patients reviewed, 6 demonstrated excellent arrhythmia control after initiation of combination therapy with flecainide and sotalol/metoprolol. These patients have been arrhythmia-free for an average of 35.5 months. Two patients have demonstrated recurrent arrhythmias despite combination therapy and have undergone repeat epicardial and endocardial ablation. Recurrence was noted to occur within 2 months of therapy. Patients were diverse with regard to the severity of disease as well as in the presence of genetic mutations. CONCLUSION: The addition of flecainide in combination with sotalol/metoprolol may be an effective antiarrhythmic strategy for the control of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with ARVC refractory to single-agent therapy and/or catheter ablation.
Authors: Edmond M Cronin; Frank M Bogun; Philippe Maury; Petr Peichl; Minglong Chen; Narayanan Namboodiri; Luis Aguinaga; Luiz Roberto Leite; Sana M Al-Khatib; Elad Anter; Antonio Berruezo; David J Callans; Mina K Chung; Phillip Cuculich; Andre d'Avila; Barbara J Deal; Paolo Della Bella; Thomas Deneke; Timm-Michael Dickfeld; Claudio Hadid; Haris M Haqqani; G Neal Kay; Rakesh Latchamsetty; Francis Marchlinski; John M Miller; Akihiko Nogami; Akash R Patel; Rajeev Kumar Pathak; Luis C Saenz Morales; Pasquale Santangeli; John L Sapp; Andrea Sarkozy; Kyoko Soejima; William G Stevenson; Usha B Tedrow; Wendy S Tzou; Niraj Varma; Katja Zeppenfeld Journal: J Interv Card Electrophysiol Date: 2020-10 Impact factor: 1.900
Authors: David J Tester; Jaeger P Ackerman; John R Giudicessi; Nicholas C Ackerman; Marina Cerrone; Mario Delmar; Michael J Ackerman Journal: JACC Clin Electrophysiol Date: 2018-11-01
Authors: Edmond M Cronin; Frank M Bogun; Philippe Maury; Petr Peichl; Minglong Chen; Narayanan Namboodiri; Luis Aguinaga; Luiz Roberto Leite; Sana M Al-Khatib; Elad Anter; Antonio Berruezo; David J Callans; Mina K Chung; Phillip Cuculich; Andre d'Avila; Barbara J Deal; Paolo Della Bella; Thomas Deneke; Timm-Michael Dickfeld; Claudio Hadid; Haris M Haqqani; G Neal Kay; Rakesh Latchamsetty; Francis Marchlinski; John M Miller; Akihiko Nogami; Akash R Patel; Rajeev Kumar Pathak; Luis C Sáenz Morales; Pasquale Santangeli; John L Sapp; Andrea Sarkozy; Kyoko Soejima; William G Stevenson; Usha B Tedrow; Wendy S Tzou; Niraj Varma; Katja Zeppenfeld Journal: Europace Date: 2019-08-01 Impact factor: 5.214
Authors: Chantal J M van Opbergen; Navratan Bagwan; Alicia Lundby; Mario Delmar; Svetlana R Maurya; Joon-Chul Kim; Abigail N Smith; Daniel J Blackwell; Jeffrey N Johnston; Björn C Knollmann; Marina Cerrone Journal: Circulation Date: 2022-05-01 Impact factor: 39.918
Authors: Marina Cerrone; Jerome Montnach; Xianming Lin; Yan-Ting Zhao; Mingliang Zhang; Esperanza Agullo-Pascual; Alejandra Leo-Macias; Francisco J Alvarado; Igor Dolgalev; Thomas V Karathanos; Kabir Malkani; Chantal J M Van Opbergen; Joanne J A van Bavel; Hua-Qian Yang; Carolina Vasquez; David Tester; Steven Fowler; Fengxia Liang; Eli Rothenberg; Adriana Heguy; Gregory E Morley; William A Coetzee; Natalia A Trayanova; Michael J Ackerman; Toon A B van Veen; Hector H Valdivia; Mario Delmar Journal: Nat Commun Date: 2017-07-24 Impact factor: 14.919
Authors: Ka Hou Christien Li; George Bazoukis; Tong Liu; Guangping Li; William K K Wu; Sunny Hei Wong; Wing Tak Wong; Yat Sun Chan; Martin C S Wong; Katharina Wassilew; Vassilios S Vassiliou; Gary Tse Journal: J Arrhythm Date: 2017-12-21