Johns Hopkins Electrophysiologist, Dr. Hugh Calkins, On Updating the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Guidelines — Video

Johns Hopkins Electrophysiologist, Dr. Hugh Calkins, On Updating the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Guidelines — Video

By Mellanie True Hills

May 23, 2011

  • Summary: This video discusses the development of new guidelines for catheter ablation and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation, which are expected to be completed by January of 2012
  • Reading and watching time is approximately 4–5 minutes

In this video interview, Dr. Hugh Calkins, electrophysiologist at Johns Hopkins, talked about the current effort to update and rewrite the HRS/EHRA/ECAS Expert Consensus Statement on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation, which was published in 2007. The goal is to present the new guidelines at the Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium in January, 2012.

Instead of simply rewriting sections that have changed, the writing committee will rewrite the entire document, and will include issues such as anticoagulation strategies during ablation, using dabigatran, and doing procedures while on Coumadin. In addition, new ablation tools, such as the cryoballoon, will be addressed. Additionally, the new guidelines will provide definitions of things that have come up in clinical trials, such as what constitutes a failed cardioversion.

The addition of the Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society to the writing committee will make this truly a global set of guidelines.

View the video interview with Dr. Calkins (under 3 minutes)

Learn more about the HRS/EHRA/ECAS Expert Consensus Statement on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: Recommendations for Personnel, Policy, Procedures and Follow-Up, published in 2007.

 


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