BACKGROUND Most rings currently used for tricuspid valve annuloplasty are formed in a single plane, whereas the actual tricuspid annulus (TA) may have a nonplanar or 3-dimensional (3D) structure. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the 3D geometry of the TA in healthy subjects and in patients with functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR). METHODS AND RESULTS This study consi...

OBJECTIVES The study tested the hypothesis that augmentation of the left ventricular (LV) wall thickness with direct intramyocardial injections of alginate hydrogel implants (AHI) reduces LV cavity size, restores LV shape, and improves LV function in dogs with heart failure (HF). BACKGROUND Progressive LV dysfunction, enlargement, and chamber sphericity are features of HF associated with incr...

OBJECTIVES We sought to test the hypothesis that complex fractionated electrograms (CFAEs) recorded during atrial fibrillation (AF) could be used as target sites for catheter ablation of AF. BACKGROUND Mapping of AF in humans has shown that areas of CFAEs correlate with areas of slowed conduction and pivot points of reentrant wavelets. We hypothesized that such areas of CFAEs could be identif...

INTRODUCTION Published reports of radiofrequency ablation of atypical atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) have been limited. We present our experience in 10 consecutive patients with atypical AVNRT who underwent radiofrequency ablation of the "slow" AV nodal pathway. METHODS AND RESULTS There were 9 females and 1 male; their mean age was 44 +/- 19 years (+/- SD). The mean AVN...

OBJECTIVES We sought to clarify the prevalence and characteristics of idiopathic ventricular tachycardia or premature ventricular contraction originating from the mitral annulus (MAVT/PVC). BACKGROUND Recent case reports have presented patients with MAVT/PVC. METHODS Electrocardiographic (ECG) characteristics and the results of electrophysiologic investigation and radiofrequency catheter ab...

or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia involving a concealed accessory AV connection underwent catheter ablation with the use of radiofrequency current. In 179 of the 250 patients, catheter ablation was performed at the time of an initial electrophysiology test. Two hundred thirty-five patients had one accessory AV connection and 15 patients had two or more. One hundred eighty-three accesso...

BACKGROUND The permanent form of junctional reciprocating tachycardia (PJRT) commonly presents as recurrent drug-refractory, narrow-complex tachycardia. We studied the efficacy and safety of catheter ablation in treating these patients. METHODS AND RESULTS Six patients with the diagnosis of PJRT were treated at our institution with direct-current catheter ablation. The study cohort comprised ...

BACKGROUND Although noninvasively detected myocardial fibrosis (MF) has clinical implications in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the extent, type, and distribution of ventricular MF have never been extensively pathologically characterized. We assessed the overall amount, apex-to-base, circumferential, epicardial-endocardial distribution, pattern, and type of MF in 30 transplanted hearts of end-sta...

BACKGROUND The developmental mechanisms underlying the persistence of myocardial accessory atrioventricular pathways (APs) that bypass the annulus fibrosis are mainly unknown. In the present study, we investigated the role of epicardium-derived cells (EPDCs) in annulus fibrosis formation and the occurrence of APs. METHODS AND RESULTS EPDC migration was mechanically inhibited by in ovo microsu...

Case report A 51-year-old man without any significant past illnesses but suffering from frequent palpitations due to long-standing persistent AF was referred to our institution. The patient had suffered from AF for 7 years, and the duration of persistent AF was at least no less than 3 years. The findings from the chest radiograph, laboratory data, including the thyroid hormone level, and echoca...