The future of cardioneuroablation in cardiovascular medicine
Tolga Aksu1, Asad Khan2, Henry Huang2
1Department of Cardiology, Yeditepe University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
Insights
Cardioneuroablation shows high success rates for treating vasovagal syncope, especially in younger patients with specific types of VVS. Further research is needed to fully understand its efficacy and patient selection criteria.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Electrophysiology
Background:
- Cardioneuroablation is an emerging treatment for vagally mediated bradyarrhythmias.
- Controversies exist regarding patient selection, safety, efficacy, and procedural endpoints.
Approach:
- This review summarizes the current role of cardioneuroablation.
- It discusses controversial issues and evidence from cohort studies, RCTs, and meta-analyses.
Key Points:
- Cardioneuroablation demonstrates over 90% freedom from syncope recurrence in vasovagal syncope (VVS) patients.
- Strong recommendations for cardioneuroablation are emerging for specific VVS patient groups (<40 years, cardioinhibitory/mixed types).
- Sham-controlled trials are suggested to quantify placebo effects in VVS treatment.
Conclusions:
- Cardioneuroablation offers encouraging medium-term outcomes in carefully selected patients with functional atrioventricular block and sinus bradycardia.
- However, functional bradycardia is found in a minority of patients with high-grade AV block or sinus node dysfunction.
Introduction:
Cardioneuroablation is increasingly being utilized to improve outcomes in patients with vagally mediated bradyarrhythmias. However, there are still controversial issues in the field including patient selection, safety and efficacy, and procedural end-points.
Areas Covered:
In this review, the current role of cardioneuroablation is summarized, and controversial issues related to the modality are discussed.
Expert Opinion:
According to small open-label cohort studies, overall freedom from syncope recurrence was higher than 90% after cardioneuroablation in patients with vasovagal syncope (VVS). Use of the electrogram-based strategy or high-frequency stimulation demonstrate similar success rate except in procedures limited to the right atrium. Based on a recently published randomized controlled trial and metanalysis, it may be possible now to make a strong recommendation for cardioneuroablation in patients <40 years of age, and those with the cardioinhibitory or mixed type of VVS who continue to experience frequent and/or burdensome syncope recurrences. Considering patients with VVS are prone to significant placebo/expectation effect, sham-controlled trials may help to quantify the placebo effect. In well-selected patients with functional atrioventricular block and sinus bradycardia, may result in encouraging medium-term outcomes. However, functional bradycardia is identified in a minority of patients presenting with high-grade atrioventricular block or sinus node dysfunction.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cardiomyopathy V: Interprofessional Care
Cardiomyopathy II: Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Dysrhythmias VI: Management of Dysrhythmias
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation III: AED Use
Cardiomyopathy III: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy I: Introduction and Classification


