AANEM Consensus Statement Collaboration with the Heart Rhythm Society

The Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) recently published in their journal an international multidisciplinary document titled 2022 HRS Expert Consensus Statement on Evaluation and Management of Arrhythmic Risk in Neuromuscular Disorders that AANEM is pleased to have collaborated on. This document is intended to guide electrophysiologists, cardiologists, other clinicians, and health care professionals in caring for patients with arrhythmic complications of neuromuscular disorders (NMDs).

The consensus statement presents an overview of arrhythmias in NMDs followed by detailed sections on specific disorders: Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Becker muscular dystrophy, and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2; myotonic dystrophy type 1 and type 2; Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 1B; facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy; and mitochondrial myopathies, including Friedreich ataxia and Kearns-Sayre syndrome, with an emphasis on managing arrhythmic cardiac manifestations. End-of-life management of arrhythmias in patients with NMDs is also covered. The recommendations represent the consensus opinion of the expert writing group, graded by class of recommendation and level of evidence utilizing defined criteria. The document is designed to provide practical and actionable clinical information and recommendations for the diagnosis and management of arrhythmias and thus improve the care of patients with NMDs.

Questions? Contact AANEM’s Health Policy Department at policy@aanem.org.