The past thirty years have witnessed the birth, growth, and evolution of clinical electrophysiology from a field whose initial goals were the understanding of arrhythmia
mechanisms to one of significant therapeutic impact. The development and refinement of implantable devices and catheter ablation have made non-pharmacologic
therapy a treatment of choice for most arrhythmias encountered in clinical practice. Unfortunately, these new therapeutic tools have captured the imagination of
“young electrophysiologists” to such an extent that terms such as “ablationist” and “defibrillationist” are used to describe their practice. Their zest for application of
such therapeutic modalities has led to a decrease in the emphasis of understanding...