Cystic tumours of the atrioventricular node (sometimes called ‘‘benign mesotheliomas of the atrioventricular node’’) are rare lesions associated with sudden cardiac death. 2 A recent case provided several informative points regarding the nature of this lesion and best practice methodology within the coroner’s necropsy. A 31 year old man, training for a marathon, collapsed and died suddenly with...

Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia most commonly arises from reentry within the atrioventricular (AV) node. Although ablation of the His bundle has gained popularity for treating patients with AV node reentrant tachycardia refractory to medical therapy, undesirable sequelae include complete heart block and the necessity for a permanent pacemaker. To obviate this limitation, we have develop...

Ultrastructure of the A-V node was studied in two human hearts. Fine details of intranodal cellular organization were then resynthesized on the basis of light microscopic examinations of over 250 human hearts. There are four different types of cells and no anatomic syncytium in the human A-V node: (1) a simple rounded cell identical to P cells of the sinus node, (2) a slender transitional cell ...

BACKGROUND Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia appears to reduce atrial tachycardia, which might relate to parasympathetic denervation at cardiac ganglionated plexuses. METHODS AND RESULTS Compared to 7 control canines without RFA, in 14 canines, RFA at the bottom of Koch's triangle attenuated vagal stimulation-induced effective refractory periods pr...

AIMS This study aimed to clarify the safety and efficacy of selective fast pathway ablation in patients with atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia and a prolonged PR interval during sinus rhythm. Such patients have been reported to have an increased incidence of complete atrioventricular block. METHODS AND RESULTS In this study, the earliest retrograde atrial activation during atrioven...

Abstract Introduction: Isolated perfused heart models such as perfusion and superfusion are commonly used for mammalian heart research. However, there are several fundamental limitations in the current techniques. In perfusion model, a suitable cannula is connected to the aorta and the perfusion is retrogradely performed. But, electrode displacement is a potential unwanted event resulted fr...