Optimizing Access to Care and Outcomes in Atrial Fibrillation

Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy


Dear colleagues

Welcome to the May issue of the Journal of Atrial Fibrillation. Hope you had a relaxing Spring Break. At the Journal we are actively revamping the editorial board, organizational structure and the website. We have several energetic new editorial board members that will be coming on board. A new refreshed website will be launched in the next few weeks. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and the manuscript uploading issues we have faced in the last few months.

HRS 2019 is just a week away. Congratulations to the organization on reaching the 40-year milestone. Special thanks to Thomas Deering MD, outgoing President and Mr. James Youngblood, the outgoing CEO for their service. On behalf of the editorial board I would also like to congratulate the incoming HRS President Andrea Russo MD and the new CEO Ms. Patricia Blake. The late breaking clinical trials sound very exciting and ooking forward to the new science that is being explored.

In this issue of the Journal we have several interesting manuscripts one the impact of contact force on atrial fibrillation ablation outcomes; work flow optimization on improving access to AF care through emergency rooms and improving the lab efficiencies. The hybrid approach for ventricular tachycardia throws new insights into the pathophysiology and the potential role of collaboration between electrophysiologists and cardiac surgeons. Sharma etal presented a case series on incomplete left atrial occlude endothelialization in patients with mitral regurgitation Toro ketal showed the impact of remote magnetic navigation on the incremental improvement of AF ablation process and outcomes.

We wish you a great Summer.

Best wishes




Dhanunjaya (DJ)Lakkireddy MD, FACC, FHRS Editor-in-Chief JAFIB



Andrea Natale MD, FACC, FHRS, FESC Founding Editor JAFIB