The incidence of cardiac perforation related to pacing and defibrillation leads is low. The use of active fixation leads is associated with an increased risk of cardiac perforation. We did not find any correlation between the perforation rate and any particular model of the implanted lead.

Ablation can be performed safely with no or minimal radiation exposure during pregnancy. In the setting of malignant, drug-resistant arrhythmia, ablation may be considered a therapeutic option in selected cases.

The Purkinje arborization along the border-zone of scar has an important role in the mechanism of polymorphic VT in patients after MI. Ablation of the local Purkinje network allows suppression of polymorphic VT.

Patients with WPW syndrome and AF have shorter ERPs of PVs and greater maximal veno-atrial conduction delay compared to patients with WPW without AF. These findings suggest a potential role of PVs in the development of AF in patients with WPW.

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) offers a non-invasive, real-time monitoring of cerebral oxygenation. This method is based on the oxygenation and the light wavelength dependent absorption of near-infrared light by tissue chromophores, e.g. oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin. The objective of the present study was the application of NIRS for evaluation of the brain function during vasovagal syncope (VVS). The VVS is a clinical syndrome affecting ca 3.5% of the population and for which the widely used diagnostic examination in this disease entity is the head-up tilt table test (HUT). In this study 69 patients with a history of VVS were examined using HUT. In 42 patients VVS was provoked. Results of the examination have shown that the changes in cerebral oxygenation measured by the NIRS technique are distinctly visible before the syncope. A gradual decrease of oxyhaemoglobin followed by its sudden drop was observed in all the VVS patients. Changes in the oxyhaemoglobin concentration measured by NIRS were observed on average 3.3 min before the syncope. They preceded the presyncope symptoms about 1.3 min (p < 0.005), the blood pressure and heart rate drop 2.2 min (p < 0.0001) and the arterial blood saturation 2.6 min (p < 0.00001).