© 2002 by European Society of Cardiology
Ablation of pulmonary vein foci for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Percutaneous electroanatomical guided approach
Santa Cruz Hospital, Cardiology Department, Avenida Professor Doutor Reynaldo dos Santos 2795, Carnaxide, Portugal
AIMS: To evaluate the usefulness of three-dimensional (3D) electroanatomical mapping of the pulmonary veins (PV) for guiding radiofrequency (RF) ablation of focal atrial fibrillation (AF) in a single session and to correlate the electrophysiological results with the six month clinical outcome.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixteen consecutive patients with idiopathic paroxysmal AF (more than 1 episode/month) were studied. A non-fluoroscopic mapping system was used to generate 3D electroanatomic maps of the left atrium and deliver RF energy. In patients with frequent ectopies, mapping was performed using the ‘hot-cold’ approach (looking for the earliest electrogram in the 3D reconstruction). In patients with infrequent/no ectopies, double/multiple potentials recorded at the PV were tagged. Pacing at these sites to test for inducibility of ectopy or atrial fibrillation was used to define PV foci.
The therapeutic endpoint was defined as suppression of premature beats, dissociation of PV potentials and inability to induce AF.
Twenty-five foci were identified (multiple foci in 38%). In the 4 pts with frequent ectopies, Group A, these were suppressed by 4±4·7 applications. In the 12 pts with infrequent/no ectopies, Group B, an average 4·7±1·8 applications were delivered per focus; the endpoint was achieved in eight of the patients (13 of 21 foci). By 180 days follow-up, 11 patients were free of symptoms and in sinus rhythm, two had paroxysmal AF episodes and 3 have symptomatic ectopies and are receiving antiarrhythmic drugs. The overall success rate at six months was thus 69%, 100% for group A and 58% for group B.
CONCLUSION: Electroanatomic guided RF ablation of paroxysmal AF was highly successful in patients with frequent ectopies. The use of electroanatomical mapping for precise anatomical localization of multiple potentials and for guiding the PV ostia isolation allowed successful RF ablation in 50% of pts with infrequent/no ectopies.
Key Words: Atrial fibrillation, catheter ablation, electroanatomic mapping, electrophysiology
Correspondence: Dr Pedro Adragão, Santa Cruz Hospital, Cardiology Department, Avenida Professor Doutor Reynaldo dos Santos, 2795 Carnaxide, Portugal. Tel.: (351) 21 416 34 00; Fax: (351) 21 418 80 95; E-mail: padragao{at}netcabo.pt
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