Epicardial ventricular arrhythmia ablation: a clinical consensus statement of the European Heart Rhythm Association of the European Society of Cardiology and the Heart Rhythm Society, the Asian Pacific Heart Rhythm Society, the Latin American Heart Rhythm Society, and the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society
Arash Arya, Luigi Di Biase, Víctor Bazán, Antonio Berruezo, André d’Ávila, Paolo Della Bella, Andrés Enríquez, Mélèze Hocini, Josef Kautzner, Hui‐Nam Pak, William G. Stevenson, Katja Zeppenfeld, Alireza Sepehri Shamloo, Christian Meyer, Christian de Chillou, Thomas Deneke, Marta Riva, Andreu Porta‐Sánchez, John L. Sapp, Boris Schmidt, Kalyanam Shivkumar, Philipp Sommer, Kyoko Soejima, Gregory E. Supple, Arthur A.M. Wilde, Giulio Zucchelli
Abstract
Epicardial access during electrophysiology procedures offers valuable insights and therapeutic options for managing ventricular arrhythmias (VAs). The current clinical consensus statement on epicardial VA ablation aims to provide clinicians with a comprehensive understanding of this complex clinical scenario. It offers structured advice and a systematic approach to patient management. Specific sections are devoted to anatomical considerations, criteria for epicardial access and mapping evaluation, methods of epicardial access, management of complications, training, and institutional requirements for epicardial VA ablation. This consensus is a joint effort of collaborating cardiac electrophysiology societies, including the European Heart Rhythm Association, the Heart Rhythm Society, the Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society, the Latin American Heart Rhythm Society, and the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society.