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 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, including recommendations as to when each ablation procedure is appropriate; recommendations for use of anticoagulants (blood thinners) before, during, and after ablation; a dictionary of 53 definitions; and guidelines for clinical trials.
The guidelines will be published online simultaneously in Europace, Heart Rhythm, and the Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology.
Watch the video at: New 2012 HRS/EHRA/ECAS Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Guidelines presented by Dr. Hugh Calkins — Video