9 a.m. Abstract #1788 Do women with implantable defibrillators have fewer arrhythmias than men? In population studies, women with coronary artery disease (CAD) have a lower rate of sudden cardiac death (SCD) than men with CAD. Researchers wondered if female CAD patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) also have fewer arrhythmias ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation (VT/VF). Comparing data on 59 women and 340 men, they found that sustained VT/VF occurred in 52 percent of men and 34 percent of women. Men also had more shocks from ICDs. "Gender independently predicted VT/VF endpoints after adjustment for clinical factors," reported the scientists, who found that women were less likely to experience VT/VF than men. "This study suggests that differing susceptibility to arrhythmia may underlie the known differences in SCD rates between men and women," they concluded. Also see Abstract #1807 (Monday, 9:15 a.m.) for a report showing that women undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery have "significantly lower" death rates and fewer complications when the operation is performed "off-pump."

9:30 a.m. Abstract #1808 Robotic assisted coronary bypass: good as conventional surgery. Initial results are in from the first U.S.-approved prospective multi-center trial of "robotic assisted endoscopic coronary anastomosis" a minimally invasive closed-chest technique using robotic technology to perform micro-vascular coronary bypass surgical tasks. Twenty-four patients were randomized into either conventional or robotic assisted surgery. After one patient was excluded, 13 had standard open-c
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Contact: Carole Bullock
carole.bullock@heart.org
214-706-1279
American Heart Association
10-Nov-2003