Stopstorm

launch of european research into radiotherapy for cardiac arrhythmias the stopstorm project, which officially started on may 1st, will begin researching the use of radiotherapy in treating cardiac arrhythmias. patients who suffer from ventricular tachycardia (fibrillation of the ventricles) are often treated with medication and/or implantation of an icd, a defibrillator that corrects a rapid heart rate with an electric shock. in cases of persistent arrhythmias that do not respond adequately to regular therapy, patients may undergo invasive catheter ablation. the aim of the consortium, consisting of 31 partners across 8 european countries, is to investigate the option of radiotherapy-ablation for the 30%-50% of patients whose symptoms persist after catheter ablation. the treatment, which is also used in lung oncology, consists of a high dose of radiation administered in a single session. radiation-oncologist joost verhoeff is leading the project from the umc utrecht. he says: “since