The European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), together with Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), the Asian-Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS) and Latin-American Heart Rhythm Society (LAHRS) are proud to announce the Second World Forum on Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices (CIED) Follow-up, taking place just before the annual Heart Rhythm meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, May 18, 2023.
The number of patients with CIEDs, ranging from implantable loop recorders to pacemakers and defibrillators, is continuously growing. Data from these devices are interrogated at in-office visits and remotely. However, physicians are challenged by limited integration of the different interrogation data (i.e. limited inter-operability), not only between CIED vendors, but also between type of interrogation and type of device. This unnecessarily increases workload and hampers patient care.
The World Forum on CIED is an initiative of the four major EP societies to bring together all stakeholders in the field (physicians, CIED vendors, middleware companies, standardization agencies, EMD companies...) to create a collaborative spirit to find solutions for better inter-operability within the framework of existing data formats and exchange standards. The Forum is chaired by Professor Hein Heidbuchel, former EHRA President, and Professor David Slotwiner, Former Chair of the HRS Interoperability Committee. The inaugural event took place in Barcelona on August 22, 2022.
"We are excited to host the second World Forum on CIED Follow-up at our Heart Rhythm 2023 in New Orleans," said Andrew Krahn, MD, FHRS Heart Rhythm Society President. "This forum provides a unique opportunity for clinicians, researchers, and industry leaders to come together and advance the field of device interoperability."
The forum will feature practical demos on the current state of the art of data export and integration from the different vendors, a keynote lecture on evolving standards, and most importantly a small celebration to sign a Statement of Common Goals that the stakeholders developed after the first Forum and that expresses their collaborative spirit.
"Electrophysiologists worldwide share the same desire to better streamline data flows during the follow-up of CIED patients, and I am extremely happy that our call for a creative forum was enthusiastically met by all stakeholders" said Professor Heidbuchel. Professor Slotwiner added that "The forum provides a platform for discussion between expert users and all industry involved on how to best implement existing standards, and develop newer ones, to improve patient care."
