Expert Interview Atrial Fibrillation Atrial Fibrillation with Concomitant Cardiac Disorders – Current Challenges and Emerging Strategies An Expert Interview with Claudio Tondo Cardiac Arrhythmia Research Centre, Centro Cardiologico Monzino, University of Milan, Milan, Italy Claudio Tondo Professor Claudio Tondo is Director of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Research Centre at the University of Milan, Italy and since November 2012 he has been Visiting Professor at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, Center of Excellence for the treatment of complex arrhythmias at St David’s Medical Center, Austin, Texas, US. He is also Visiting Professor of Cardiology, Clinical and Research Scientist at the arrhythmia service, electrophysiology laboratory, arrhythmia service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical School, Boston, US. Professor Tondo is the author of over 150 scientific papers and six book chapters. In 2013, he received the National Scientific Qualification as full professor and in 2014 he became a fellow of the European Society of Cardiology. Keywords Atrial fibrillation, Brugada syndrome, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, heart failure, treatment Disclosure: Claudio Tondo has nothing to disclose in relation to this article. No funding was received in the publication of this article. This article is an expert interview and as such has not been sent to external peer reviewers. Acknowledgements: Editorial assistance was provided by Katrina Mountfort, Freelance Medical Writer, supported by Touch Medical Media. Authorship: The named author meets the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship of this manuscript, takes responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, and has given final approval to the version to be published. Open Access: This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, adaptation and reproduction provided the original author(s) and source are given appropriate credit. Received: 19 February 2017 Published Online: 1 June 2017 Citation: European Journal of Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology, 2017;3(1):13–4 Corresponding Author: Claudio Tondo, Cardiac Arrhythmia Research Centre, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Milan, Centro Cardiologico Monzino, IRCCS, Via Parea 4, Milan 20138, Italy. E: claudio.tondo@cardiologicomonzino.it TOU CH MED ICA L MEDIA A trial fibrillation is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and its incidence is increasing. It is prevalent in a number of cardiac disorders including channelopathies such as Brugada syndrome, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and, most importantly, heart failure. Treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation should therefore take into consideration multiple clinical aspects. In an expert interview, Claudio Tondo of the University of Milan discusses the importance of individualised strategies for atrial fibrillation in patients with various concomitant cardiac disorders. Q: What are the prognostic and therapeutic implications of atrial fibrillation in cardiac channelopathies? Cardiac channelopathies represent a specific category of genetic-linked diseases with relevant clinical implication in terms of arrhythmic risk. Amid the different channelopathies, only few seem to be correlated to the risk to develop atrial fibrillation. Apart cases of familial atrial fibrillation, in which no specific gene-driven therapy can be proposed at the moment, it is noteworthy to highlight the relationship between patients with Brugada syndrome and the occurrence of atrial fibrillation. Even in this subset of patients, catheter ablation of atrial foci might be beneficial in reducing the burden of the arrhythmia. Anyhow, due to the paucity of therapeutic resources for channelopathies, treatment of atrial fibrillation in this context still remains confined to catheter ablation in selected patients. Q: What is the optimal strategy for management of atrial fibrillation in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? The occurrence of atrial fibrillation in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is always considered an adverse event. All the preventive pharmacologic measures need to be implemented, such as beta-blocker and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor therapies with the aim to slow the ventricular response and improve the haemodynamic response, respectively. Usually, when atrial fibrillation arises in the context of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, all the possible strategies of treatment need to be considered. In the last few years, catheter ablation has become an effective non-pharmacologic option for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in these patients, as long as it is carried out in the early phase of the arrhythmia as to achieve a higher success rate. Left atrial dilation and fibrosis have detrimental effects on the atrial haemodynamic response and, when they occur, even the ablation results are negatively affected. Therefore, catheter ablation should be planned ahead of these anatomical and haemodynamic consequences. 13