A New Year’s Invitation

Dear Readers, Since its inaugural issue in September 2001, EP Lab Digest has been a remarkable success under the direction of Dr. Todd Cohen as the Editor-in-Chief. EP Lab Digest has become a monthly publication, improved both the quality and quantity of its articles, and increased its presence in the rapidly-evolving field of EP. It has become a favorite with EP lab physicians, nurses and technicians, and can be found on a desk or in a control room in nearly every EP lab in the United States. This issue of EP Lab Digest represents a transition as Dr. Todd Cohen passes the editorial “baton.” As we look forward, we will continue to expand on the successes of EP Lab Digest and take it to new heights and new places. With the continued help of a great staff led by Jodie Elrod as the Managing Editor, we plan to create new opportunities for our readers. With each issue, this column will serve as an update for our readers on the latest advances in the field of EP, with an emphasis on topics that affect the entire team caring for patients with heart rhythm disorders. We will continue with well-received sections including EP 101, the Spotlight Interviews, and the monthly feature interviews with leaders in the field. In 2009 we hope to expand our international coverage and readership as well. The primary mission of this letter is to serve as an open invitation to everyone involved in the care of patients with heart rhythm disorders to share their experiences with us. Unlike other EP subspecialty journals, EP Lab Digest has a very broad audience that includes all members of the heart rhythm management team. EP Lab Digest provides an opportunity for both physicians and allied heart care professionals to share experiences that might be of interest to each other. In medicine, nothing can take the place of personal experience. However, an experience that is shared can also be highly instructive, increasing the impact of that experience. For example, a single case can be a lesson for hundreds of physicians and trainees. When a physician encounters an unusual case for the first time, it is more likely that the case will be properly managed if the physician is at least familiar with a similar case from the literature or from a shared experience. This philosophy drives evening EP rounds at our institution after cases are finished. EP fellows are expected to share his or her “lessons learned” from the day. This approach leads to a mindset throughout the day that every heart rhythm procedure or patient encounter contains a potential teaching point. Therefore, we invite all cardiology and cardiac EP fellows, as well as seasoned electrophysiologists, to share interesting cases and intracardiac tracings. We also invite all EP technicians to share their important observations and techniques with our readers around the world, and invite all of the outstanding nurses who work in EP labs and device clinics to network with other nurses to improve the quality of care delivered to patients, both in the laboratory and in the office setting. Finally, we also invite patients with heart rhythm disorders to provide feedback, so that we can see our field from their vantage point and potentially improve how we care for them. The flexible, informal format of EP Lab Digest should welcome all interested to prepare a case or article to contribute. Readers are encouraged to submit any case reports or ideas that may be helpful to those in the field. Please visit us at www.eplabdigest.com for more information. Please also see our Email Discussion Group, which provides an excellent forum for finding practical solutions to problems from other readers of the Digest. In the year ahead, we look forward to contributions from our readers as we attempt to bring fresh perspectives to new issues of EP Lab Digest. Sincerely, Bradley P. Knight, MD, FACC, FHRS Editor-in-Chief, EP Lab Digest