Status of ablation of cardiac arrhythmias in Lebanon

Abstract

Objectives: The 2017 European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) White Book was published with interventional electrophysiology data on ESC member countries. Lebanon, an ESC member country, did not have data on cardiac ablation. Hence, there was an unmet need to have cardiac ablation estimate in Lebanon. Methods: Data from companies providing support for cardiac ablation in Lebanon was collected for the year 2017. Results: In 2017, the number of catheter ablations performed was close to 350. This is around 70 per million of Lebanese. There has been a significant increase, over 50%, in the 2010-2017 period: 50 to 60 ablation procedures were performed annually in 2010 (most of them for supraventricular tachycardias) and this increased to around 100 per year in 2013. Conclusion: Cardiac ablation procedures have increased over the last several years in Lebanon in parallel with the number of cardiac electrophysiologists. It is important to have a national registry of cardiac ablations in Lebanon which will require financial support for its maintenance. © 2019 Lebanese Order of Physicians. All rights reserved.