EP Edge Journal Watch

EP Edge® Journal Watch 41 | October 2026: AF Ablation, PFA Coronary Safety, Smartwatches and LAA Closure When does a more extensive ablation strategy improve outcomes, how should we assess coronary safety after pulsed field ablation, and can wearable rhythm monitoring or left atrial appendage closure change clinical decisions? In Issue 41 of EP Edge Journal Watch, Dr. Sharma examines atrial fibril...

EP Edge® Journal Watch | Issue 40 | October 2026 Beyond AF Burden: Stroke Risk, Rhythm Progression, Atrial Pacing, and Sudden Death Prevention Should oral anticoagulation continue after successful atrial fibrillation ablation? Does AF density provide better stroke-risk information than conventional burden measurements? Can the GLORIA-AF score improve thromboembolic risk prediction? And could auton...

Should we add posterior wall isolation during pulsed field ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation? How durable are pulmonary vein isolation and additional atrial lines? Can a defibrillation lead placed in the left bundle branch area provide reliable early performance while simplifying device therapy? Join Dr. Sharma for EP Edge® Journal Watch Issue 39, October 2026 . We examine four papers in...

In this special EP Edge® Journal Watch Issue 38 , recorded at HRX, with the Heart Rhythm Society Live 2026 in Atlanta , Dr. Niraj Sharma is joined by Dr. Michael Lloyd , Professor of Medicine at Emory University, for a focused discussion of three provocative studies with direct implications for contemporary cardiac electrophysiology. First, they examine the emerging role of large language models a...

In EP Edge® Journal Watch Issue 37, September 2026 , Dr. Sharma reviews 13 important studies in cardiac electrophysiology, with a focus on what the data actually mean for clinical practice. This episode goes beyond abstracts and headline results to examine why each study was performed, the clinical question investigators were trying to answer, the methodology used, the statistics behind the major...

What defines successful atrial fibrillation ablation: fewer recurrences, lower AF burden, better quality of life, or all three? In this ESC Congress 2026 special issue of EP Edge Journal Watch, Dr. Sharma examines evidence from Munich, Germany, August 28–31, 2026, alongside previously covered sham-controlled trials to explore what meaningful patient benefit should look like. PVI-SHAM-AF leads the...

In this special edition of EP Edge® Journal Watch , Dr. Sharma reviews the major breaking cardiovascular and electrophysiology science presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2026 in Munich . The episode begins with two important electrophysiology trials that challenge familiar clinical thresholds. First is SINGLE-AF , led by Daehoon Kim and colleagues and published in the New Eng...

In this EP Edge and Heart Rhythm Society collaborative podcast, Dr. Niraj Sharma and Dr. Mike Lloyd examine new evidence challenging several long-standing assumptions in cardiac electrophysiology: when to choose catheter ablation over antiarrhythmic drug therapy for atrial fibrillation, whether left bundle branch area pacing should replace conventional right ventricular pacing in patients who requ...

What can nine carefully selected studies teach us about the changing practice of cardiac electrophysiology? In EP Edge® Journal Watch Issue 34, August 2026, Dr. Sharma provides a clinically focused review of emerging evidence across atrial fibrillation, pulsed field ablation, implantable cardiac devices, sudden death prevention, resuscitation, occupational radiation safety, and postural orthostati...

How long should anticoagulation continue after an apparently successful atrial fibrillation ablation? Should prophylactic pulmonary vein isolation be added during typical atrial flutter ablation in patients with heart failure? What do emerging data reveal about neurologic events, hemolysis, and renal safety with pulsed-field ablation? In EP Edge® Journal Watch Issue 33, August 2026 , Dr. Sharma pr...

Can anticoagulation be safely discontinued after successful atrial fibrillation ablation? Is the traditional prohibition against flecainide in structural heart disease too broad or does CAST remain an essential warning? And can AI-enabled ECGs, unipolar voltage mapping, and cardiac MRI improve how we detect AF and characterize arrhythmic substrate? In EP Edge® Journal Watch Issue 32, Dr. Niraj Sha...

In EP Edge® Journal Watch Issue 31, August 2026, Dr. Sharma examine new evidence that challenges several familiar assumptions in cardiac electrophysiology. Should patients with atrial fibrillation routinely stop drinking coffee? An American Heart Association scientific statement reviews the cardiovascular effects of caffeine, including randomized evidence showing a 39% lower risk of recurrent AF a...

In EP Edge® Journal Watch Issue 30, July 2026 , we explore the next phase of cardiac electrophysiology, from pulsed field ablation durability and physiologic pacing to neuromodulation, sleep, fitness, and lifetime arrhythmia risk. We begin with the first-in-human VISION AF study , which evaluates an endoscope-enabled pulsed field ablation balloon that allows direct visualization of the electrode-t...

In EP Edge® Journal Watch Issue 29, July 2026 , we examine the evidence reshaping contemporary atrial fibrillation management and the rapidly changing role of catheter ablation. Two major meta-analyses compare catheter ablation with antiarrhythmic drug therapy , addressing rhythm efficacy, serious adverse events, hospitalization, treatment intolerance, and whether medications still deserve an auto...

In this July 2026 episode of EP Edge Journal Watch , produced in collaboration with the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) , Mike Lloyd and Dr. Niraj Sharma review five studies with direct implications for contemporary cardiac electrophysiology practice. The anchor trials are InEurHeart , a randomized comparison of computed tomography-guided versus conventional catheter ablation for post–myocardial infarc...

In EP Edge® Journal Watch Issue 28, July 2026 , Dr. Sharma reviews a major month in cardiac electrophysiology, where new technology is being tested against real-world evidence. This episode covers the rapid commercial adoption of pulsed field ablation , the NCDR AFib Ablation Registry , the VOLT-AF IDE balloon-in-basket PFA study , PFA-related intravascular hemolysis , and the evolving role of non...

In this episode of EP Edge® Journal Watch , Dr. Sharma reviews the June 2026 Issue 27 newsletter, focusing on a central question in modern cardiac electrophysiology: how do we better match mechanism to intervention? This issue explores smarter procedural targeting, safer energy delivery, functional substrate assessment, and the evolving biology of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. The episode be...

In this episode of EP Edge Journal Watch Issue 26, June 2026 , Dr. Sharma reviews high-impact studies shaping contemporary cardiac electrophysiology , with a focus on smarter ablation strategies, safer left atrial appendage closure, post-arrest and post-myocarditis risk stratification, and the cellular biology beneath cardiac rhythm. This episode covers pulsed field ablation beyond pulmonary vein...

In EP Edge Journal Watch Issue 25, June 2026 , Dr. Sharma reviews the most clinically relevant new studies in cardiac electrophysiology , with a focus on atrial fibrillation, stroke prevention, pulsed field ablation, ICD therapy, CRT strategy, and EP lab decision-making. This episode is built around the theme “Beyond the Binary” — moving past simple endpoints like recurrence versus no recurrence,...

In this episode of EP Edge Journal Watch , Dr. Sharma reviews major electrophysiology and cardiology studies from Issue 24: Substrate, Sensing, Wearables, Surgery, and the Precision Turn . The central theme is precision EP: selecting the right patient, targeting the right substrate, interpreting the right signal, choosing the right antithrombotic strategy, and designing the right follow-up plan. ...

The inaugural EP Edge Journal Watch and Heart Rhythm Society collaboration is here. In this first episode, Dr. Michael Lloyd from the Heart Rhythm Society Digital Education Committee joins Dr. Niraj Sharma , creator of EP Edge , to launch a new monthly format focused on the most clinically relevant literature in cardiac electrophysiology. This is not a routine article summary. It is a practical, p...

In EP Edge™ Journal Watch Issue 23, May 2026 , Dr. Sharma reviews the latest high-impact electrophysiology and cardiology literature with a new focused format: four deep-dive studies and a rapid-fire review of the remaining trials. This episode explores whether pulsed field ablation platform design affects pulmonary vein isolation durability , how balloon-in-basket PFA may change posterior wall ab...

In this episode of EP Edge® Journal Watch , Dr. Sharma reviews Issue 22, May 2026, focused on the next phase of electrophysiology: pulsed field ablation safety, lesion durability, long-term AF recurrence, one-stop AF procedures, device simplification, PAC suppression, and the evolving definition of ablation success. This issue begins with the Ferro EHRA 2026 real-world comparison of pulsed field a...

In this May 2026 episode of EP Edge™ Journal Watch , we review nine high-impact electrophysiology studies shaping contemporary EP practice. This issue covers AI-guided redo AF ablation, dual-energy lattice-tip ventricular arrhythmia ablation, pulsed field ablation safety in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices, neuromodulation for PVC suppression, cannabis-associated atrial arrhyth...

In this special HRS 2026 edition of EP Edge™ Journal Watch , Dr. Niraj Sharma takes a deep, clinically focused look at the AVANT GUARD trial , published in The New England Journal of Medicine , evaluating pulsed field ablation as initial therapy for treatment-naïve persistent atrial fibrillation . AVANT GUARD delivered the headline many expected: first-line PFA reduced atrial arrhythmia recurrence...