BACKGROUND Atrial mechanical dysfunction and its recovery time course after successful radiofrequency ablation of chronic atrial flutter (AFL) has been largely unknown. We serially evaluated left atrial function by echocardiography after successful ablation of chronic atrial flutter. METHODS In 13 patients with chronic AFL, mitral E wave A wave, and the ratio of A/E velocity were measured at ...

Two patients who underwent left ventricular bypass transplants are described. Both patients sustained postoperative rhythm disturbances of their own hearts during sinus rhythm of the donor hearts. Illustrative examples of atrial flutter, ventricular flutter, ventricular fibrillation, blocked atrial extrasystoles, and double ventricular parasystole in the recipient hearts are presented. The pati...

Typical atrial flutter (AFL) or type I AFL is the most common type of macroreentrant atrial tachycardia. Its prevalence increases with age and is more common in men. Ablation of the cavo-tricuspid isthmus (CTI), a critical part of the circuit, is safe and highly effective. Despite the long-term efficacy of this therapy, a significant proportion of patients undergoing CTI ablation will develop a...

A four-month-old baby presented with failure to thrive and congestive cardiac failure precipitated by a lower respiratory tract infection. He was found to have a large ostium secundum atrial septal defect measuring 18 mm. This was successfully closed percutaneously by a device (Blockaid). A month after the device deployment the child developed typical atrial flutter. Despite rate control drugs ...

OBJECTIVE When used for epicardial ablation, unipolar devices do not predictably yield transmural scars. Bipolar radiofrequency proved highly effective on the animal model, but clinical experience is still initial. We describe acute electrophysiologic findings and follow-up results of epicardial ablation with a novel bipolar radiofrequency device. METHODS A bipolar ablator was used to perform...

BACKGROUND Experimental studies have shown that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish may have antiarrhythmic properties. OBJECTIVE We examined the association between consumption of n-3 fatty acids from fish and risk of atrial fibrillation or flutter. DESIGN In a prospective cohort study of 47 949 participants (mean age: 56 y) in the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study, we investigated...

BACKGROUND The mechanisms of common atrial flutter entrainment have not been directly studied in humans. METHODS AND RESULTS Endocardial mapping in six cases of common flutter showed large right atrial (RA) reentry circuits. Activation was craniocaudal in the anterolateral right atrium and caudocranial in the septum. The inferior vena cava-tricuspid isthmus (IVC-TV) closed the circuit. The hi...

AIMS We sought to compare the predictive power and reproducibility between minimum and maximum left atrial (LA) volume for the development of first atrial fibrillation (AF)/flutter. METHODS AND RESULTS This prospective study included 574 adults, mean age 74+/-6 years, in sinus rhythm, and had no history or evidence of prior atrial arrhythmias. During a mean follow-up of 1.9+/-1.2 years, 30 (5...

Radiofrequency catheter (RF) ablation aiming the complete conduction block of the cavotricuspid isthmus has become treatment of choice for common type atrial flutter. Different approaches to guide the ablation procedure are used. For the conventional approach multipolar catheters in the right atrium and in the coronary sinus are required to detect the induction of conduction block via the isthm...

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia of the heart with a prevalence of approximately 2% in the western world. Atrial flutter, another arrhythmia, occurs less often with an incidence of approximately 200,000 new patients per year in the USA. Patients with atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter have an increased risk of death and morbidities. The management of atrial fibri...