Derek Connelly

Consultant cardiac electrophysiologist, Golden Jubilee National Hospital and Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Honorary professor, @UofGlasgow. Amateur percussionist.

[Derek Connelly @ProfDConnelly]

@KnowYourPulse @BHRSociety

[NHS Golden Jubilee @JubileeHospital]

This week is #WorldHeartRhythmWeek! Consultant Cardiologist Derek Connelly talks about the importance of checking your pulse and understanding how to #KnowyourPulseToKnowYourHeartRhythm - It could save your life! #TeamJubilee

[Dr Rachel Clarke @doctor_oxford]

Sir William Osler, 1849-1919, renowned as the father of modern medicine, famously instructed medical students to: "Listen to your patient, he is telling you the diagnosis." It's a simple dictum, but the foundation of the way Osler revolutionised healthcare by insisting that doctors step away from their desks and focus on their patients.

Everyone longs for functioning, joined-up NHS IT, @jamesmurray_ldn (though not via Palantir) - but to suggest, as you have in this post, that history-taking is a tedious irrelevance is to completely misunderstand the nature of medicine. That first conversation between doctor and patient is a close, shrewd, vital therapeutic encounter. As we listen, we observe, appraise, distil. Invariably, the diagnosis can be made. But history-taking, like the rest of medicine, is the marriage of science with humanity. It treats patients as people, not as objects with disease. Through your time, care and attentiveness in history-taking, you communicate something vital to a patient - that they matter and that you care.

Please never forget that healthcare is not a production line of objects, it's an enterprise built on relationships, with humanity at its core. Medical history-taking is its bedrock.

[Prof Chris P Gale @cpgale3]

Encouraging all NHS Trusts to participate in the PROFID-EHRA randomised clinical trial testing the effectiveness of primary prevention ICD after #heartattack in severe #heartfailure on optimised pharmacotherapies.

Contact me if you would like to join.

[London Arrhythmia Summit 2026 @LDN_Arrhythmia]

Is AI replacing EP thinking in mapping and ablation? Session 5 at LAS tackles the question directly.
Prof. André Ng, Prof. Paul Friedman & Prof. Sana Al-Khatib on where the technology is actually going — and what it means for how you practice.
https://t.co/k2MPdmDINQ

[London Arrhythmia Summit 2026 @LDN_Arrhythmia]

LAS 2026 approved for 6 CPD credits!

Join us for a focused, one-day update in arrhythmia and pacing featuring:
✔️ Practical clinical decision-making
✔️ Expert debate
✔️ Interactive discussion
✔️ Short, high-yield talks

Register: https://t.co/k2MPdmDINQ

[Derek Connelly @ProfDConnelly]

This is an excellent thread 🧵 on the comparative effects of warfarin and DOACs on coagulation factors, and the reasons that warfarin is more effective than DOACs in preventing thrombus on mechanical valves...

[Tony Breu @tony_breu]

1/14
Why can't you use direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with mechanical valves (MVs)?

DOACs have been one of the most important advances in my career. And yet, the presence of a MV is one of the few contraindications.

The reason highlights the unique nature of thrombus formation in those with a MV and provides insights into the evolution of human hemostasis.

[HeartRhythm @hrs_journal]

Atrial fibrillation recurrence and outcomes in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Insights from a nationwide real-world cohort

@AmroAglanMD @WMCHealth @EthanRowin @LaheyHospital

https://t.co/A7GJpYr7Rf

[Shouvik Haldar @ShouvikHaldar]

Do not miss out!

If you work in EP, this is the room you want to be in on Friday 12 June.

🌍 World-class faculty
🔥 Unfiltered debates
📊 Practice-changing data

No fluff. No safe opinions. ⚡

#LAS2026
👉 https://t.co/Q8S1YTDygs

@SanaAlkhatib9 @Mel_Gunawardene @ProfDConnelly @g_andre_ng @JohnWhitaker20 @DavideFabb @DocWajidHussain @drjohnm

#LAS2026
👉 https://t.co/Q8S1YTDygs

[Derek Connelly @ProfDConnelly]

@PrashSanders @adelaide87018 @nhmrc @Vortex_mapper @martinkstiles @ProfSNicholls @walabheart @JonKalmanEP @JonathanAriya @AlexisPuvrez @melissaemm1 @thecsanz @HRSonline Congratulations!
Previous data was dodgy. The Gasparini data was observational ... and the Brignole trial (2011) compared CRT with RV pacing post AVN ablation. Despite this, they managed to influence ESC guidelines ... which now need to be changed

[BHRS @BHRSociety]

📅 SAVE THE DATE – #BHRSymposium 2026

A full day of arrhythmia-focused debate, discussion & interactive scenarios where your input shapes the conversation.

📍 Royal College of Physicians, London
🗓️ 5 Nov 2026
More details soon 👀

[UofG MVLS @UofGMVLS]

Great news for MVLS 🎉

The University of Glasgow has once again performed strongly in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject.

We’re particularly proud to see Life Sciences and Medicine ranked in the global top 50, and Anatomy and Physiology in the global top 20

[Derek Connelly @ProfDConnelly]

@OungSavly @Frances98392343 @jeffrey_vinocur @RobertHPass @KaraMotonaga @iamritu @CASivaram1 @AEPCcongenital @SIwa23288585 @loomba_rohit @alex1708ander @ecgandrhythmRoe Very unusual ECG. The rate and irregularity might suggest pre-excited AF ...but the QRS morphology suggests an RVOT origin. So either RVOT tachycardia or an epicardial accessory pathway taking a circuitous course...

[Derek Connelly @ProfDConnelly]

@ncurzen @hrs_journal ...or a better outcome measure such as AF burden. We need to tell our patients from the outset that ablation for AF is (almost always) not curative, but it can hugely delay progression and improve QOL ... and we need to manage patients' expectations re repeat procedures)

[Sara Moscatelli @saramoscatelli7]

🌍 New insights in cardiac resynchronisation therapy for adults with a systemic right ventricle 💡🫀
A new international multicentre study has just been published, exploring the impact of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) in adults with a systemic right ventricle (sRV) — a growing and uniquely complex patient population.
📄 Fusco et al., Heart (2025)

🔬 What makes this study remarkable?
This is the largest cohort ever reported, including patients with ccTGA and d-TGA after atrial switch. Thanks to a robust propensity-matched analysis, it provides the strongest real-world evidence to date on CRT in this challenging anatomy.

📉 Key findings
Despite expectations and past small-scale studies, CRT did not improve survival or event-free survival in adults with an sRV. Even after adjusting for confounders, CRT remained associated with worse outcomes, likely reflecting advanced disease stage and suboptimal timing at the moment of implantation.

Moreover, only a minority of patients achieved significant QRS narrowing—highlighting how challenging true resynchronisation can be in this substrate.

⚙️ Why does this matter?
Patients with an sRV face increasing rates of heart failure as they age. Understanding which therapies truly work — and which need refinement — is essential to guide future care. This study underscores the need for:
➡️ Better patient selection
➡️ Earlier identification of candidates
➡️ Optimised pacing strategies adapted to sRV physiology
➡️ Exploration of conduction system pacing (CSP) as a more physiological alternative 🔌✨
🚀 Looking ahead

While CRT, as currently applied, may not deliver meaningful benefit in this population, the field is moving fast. Advances in CSP and refined timing may soon reshape how we approach electrical therapy in adults with congenital heart disease.

🔗 A milestone paper that pushes the field forward and reminds us how essential tailored, anatomy-specific strategies are in ACHD.

#Cardiology #ACHD #SystemicRV #CRT #HeartFailure #CongenitalHeartDisease #Innovation #Research

https://t.co/l5f0khNqJK

[Derek Connelly @ProfDConnelly]

@docmoiz66 @Frances98392343 @ecgrhythms @ecgandrhythmRoe VT - originating from LV outflow tract probably.

[Derek Connelly @ProfDConnelly]

@Frances98392343 @TheECGMedic The original paper by L Wolff, J P and PD W in 1930 was entitled "short PR interval and bundle branch block...". A totally pre-excited RV gives delayed LV activation similar to LBBB.
Theoretically one could ablate the pathway and find co-existing LBBB (but I've never seen that).

[London Arrhythmia Summit 2026 @LDN_Arrhythmia]

Trainees — this one’s for you
🎟 £1 BHRS places
🎟 50% off BJCA trainees
🎟 Early bird rates

One day. Real-world arrhythmia & pacing.

Limited places — first come, first served
https://t.co/k2MPdmDINQ

[🇺🇦 Dr Kevin O'Kane 🇺🇦 @DrOKaneAgain]

@wesstreeting is in the pocket of private health providers & is dumbing down & dismantling our NHS.

He is using resident doctors as scape goats.

If you’re waiting to see a specialist, remember he has just slashed 1,000 specialist tracing posts.

Hit Labour in the May elections.

[Derek Connelly @ProfDConnelly]

@ecgandrhythmRoe Seriously, anyone who needs PMCardio to interpret this ECG should probably not be responsible for treating people with chest pain!

[London Arrhythmia Summit 2026 @LDN_Arrhythmia]

We’re pleased to confirm an outstanding faculty for LAS 2026, including:
• Prof Sana Al-Khatib
• Dr Derek Connelly
• Dr John Mandrola
• Prof John Camm
and more to be confirmed soon.

https://t.co/c76fUY5lY1