Introduction: Acute pulmonary vein reconnection (PVR) is associated with longer procedure time and radiofrequency time during pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). However, determinants of acute PVR after high-power, short-duration PVI (HPSD-PVI) in the guidance with unipolar signal modification (USM) remain unclear. Methods and Results: We evaluated 62 patients (age, 62±12 y; 45 men) with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation undergoing USM-guided HPSD-PVI. A 50-W radiofrequency (RF) was applied for 3–5 s after unipolar signal modification. In the segments adjacent to the esophagus (SAE), RF time was limited to 5 s. Each circle was subdivided into 12 segments. For each radiofrequency tag within the circle, possible predictors of acute PVR, including minimum contact force, minimum force-time integral, minimum ablation index (AImin), minimum impedance drop (Imp-min), and maximum inter-lesion distance (ILDmax) were assessed. Acute PVR was observed in 43 (7%) SAE and 21 (17%) other segments (p = 0.001). RF energy, RF application time and bilateral isolation time were 28±8 kJ, 10±3 min, and 27±11 min, respectively. Imp-min and ILDmax had the highest area under the curve (0.69 and 0.68) and of all indices, and were the sole independent predictors of acute PVR in segments other than the SAE and SAE, respectively, after adjusting for other cofounders (odds ratio [OR]: 0.90 [0.85–0.95], p = 0.0003; and OR: 1.39 [1.11–1.74], p=0.005). Conclusions: In HPSD-PVI, a non-negligible amount of acute PVR was still observed, which was possibly dealt with an optimal target value of impedance drop and lesion distance.

Background: Management of pacemaker (PM) infections in patients with an advanced age is one of the most sensitive issues, since they possess particular clinical challenges due to higher rates of medical comorbidities. The novel leadless pacemaker (LP) requiring no transvenous lead or device pocket, may provide new opportunities for the management of PM infections among patients with an advanced age. Methods: We reviewed 8 octogenarians (median age of 86 [minimum 82 – maximum 90], male 63%) who received an LP implantation following a transvenous lead extraction (TLE) of an infectious PM. Results: All patients had more than 2 medical comorbidities. The indications for the LP implantations were atrioventricular block in 3 patients, atrial fibrillation bradycardia in 3, and sinus node dysfunction in 2. Five patients were bridged with a temporary pacing using an active fixation lead (median interval of 14.5 days), while one patient with severe dementia underwent a concomitant LP implantation and TLE during the same procedure. Successful TLEs and LP implantations were accomplished in all patients. There were no major or minor complications including vascular access troubles. All patients were discharged 2–8 days after the implantation. All patients stayed free of infection during the follow-up period of 6 months Conclusions: LP implantations were safe and effective after infected pacemaker removals in all 8 octogenarians. The novel LP technology may offer an alternative option in considering re-implantation of a PM even among patients with an advanced age and who are PM dependent.