EP Europace 2024

In 2024, we marked 100 years since Willem Einthoven won the Nobel Prize for inventing the electrocardiogram (ECG). His work made it possible to record the heart’s electrical activity from the outside, revolutionizing how heart problems are diagnosed and treated. What began with water-bucket electrodes in Leiden, the Netherlands, became a routine medical tool used worldwide.

Einthoven’s invention helped doctors “see” the heart’s electrical signals, laying the foundation for understanding and diagnosing irregular heart rhythms. His work continues to influence medicine today.

This article also explores how we’ve moved from simply monitoring the heart’s electricity to actually controlling it. Traditional methods like drugs or electric shocks are now being joined by optogenetics — a technique that uses light to control genetically modified heart cells. Introduced in 2010, optogenetics offers a more precise and less painful way to treat abnormal heart rhythms.

In short, from Einthoven’s early ECGs to today’s light-based therapies, we’ve come a long way in understanding and treating the heart’s electrical system — a journey that continues to benefit both science and patients.

EP Europace – EHJ Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology (EP Europace) is an official, international, peer-reviewed journal of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), an association of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and is affiliated with the Working Groups on e-Cardiology and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology. The Journal provides a unique open access platform for the publication and dissemination of high-quality original science, opinion, and education from leading international authors. Their content encompasses all aspects of Arrhythmias and Sudden Death, with specific sections on Interventional Electrophysiology, Implantable Cardiac Devices, Cellular Electrophysiology, Genetics, Arrhythmia Imaging, and Digital Cardiology.