Previous studies have suggested that fibrillatory substrates are widely distributed in both atria in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation. Extensive bi-atrial ablation has been increasingly performed to improve the clinical outcomes; however, this may adversely affect the intra-atrial conduction during sinus rhythm. The worst con- sequence of an intra-atrial conduction disturbance is co...

Department of Electrophysiology, Hamburg, Germany Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF), particularly longer lasting AF, often requires extensive ablation within the atria and their annexed structures. Immediate procedural success is commonly defined as termination of AF during ablation. While this end point is associated with fewer AF recurrences and maintained sinus rhythm, recurrent ...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a cardiac arrhythmia that arises from electrical and contractile dysfunction in the atria. Atrial function is regulated by a variety of intracellular signaling networks that facilitate rapid communication and coordinate responses of atrial myocytes. In this issue of the JCI, Brandenburg and colleagues describe the identification and characterization of "super-hub" si...

trial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication after cardiac surgery and has important implications.1 Postoperative AF leads to prolonged hospital stay and increases hospitalization costs.2 Although the pathophysiology is not fully understood, the causes are likely multifactorial, including atrial myocyte alterations or atrial myocarditis, operative trauma, enhanced sympathetic nervous system...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, and is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality if left untreated. AF has been associated with profound changes in sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) homeostasis, which might contribute to both reduced contractile function and increased arrhythmogenesis in atria. Studies in human tissue samples and various animal models of AF have...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice and induces cardiac dysfunction and strokes. The development of AF requires a"trigger" and also an electroanatomic "substrate" capable of both initiating and perpetuating AF. Over the past decade, the understanding of the AF substrate properties in both atria has increased with fractionation and freque...

everal lines of evidence suggest that autonomic innervation lays a role in the generation of atrial fibrillation (AF). anglionated plexi (GPs) that modulate autonomic inneration have been identified over both atria, particularly the ulmonary vein (PV) antral regions. Stimulation of GPs esults in the local release of parasympathetic and sympahetic neurotransmitters, which may lead to increased a...

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most commonly encountered arrhythmia in clinical practice, is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Of great significance are heart failure and stroke.1 With increased incidence and prevalence of AF, it represents a growing clinical and economic burden. AF is also a progressive disease secondary to continuous structural remodeling of the atria becaus...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with substantial structural changes at cell and tissue level. Cellular hypertrophy, disintegration of sarcomeres, mitochondrial swelling and apoptosis have been described as typical histo-morphologic alterations in AF. Main initiators for cellular alterations in fibrillating atrial myocytes are cytosolic calcium overload and oxidative stress. Calpains are ...

o trial fibrillation (AF) is a rapidly evolving epidemic repesenting a multifactorial, dynamic disorder with different nderlying substrates and serious health consequences (1). growing body of evidence indicates that, apart from the riggers, AF development and perpetuation depends on the lectrical and structural remodeling of the atria (2,3). urrently, the role of the renin-angiotensin-aldoster...