BACKGROUND Pulmonary vein stenosis (PVST) is a well-known complication of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). Specific anatomically designed ablation catheters for antral PVI have not been evaluated with regard to the incidence of PVST. We investigated the incidence, severity, and characteristics of PVST after PVI with the Pulmonary Vein Ablation Catheter (PVAC) and phased radiofrequency technology...

BACKGROUND Current guidelines recommend a 3-month blanking period after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) as early recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia (ERAT) may be due to transient proarrhythmic factors. However, studies have suggested that these factors resolve by 1 month. PV reconnection (PVrc) is strongly associated with postblanking AT recurrence in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. We hypothe...

A standardized protocol for the evaluation of hand disinfection by surgical scrub formulations was applied to volunteers in a multicenter trial. Povidone iodine (PVI), chlorhexidine (CHX), and a nonmedicated soap (NMS) were tested. The scrubbing procedure involved three daily hand washings for five consecutive days; surviving bacteria were counted daily after being collected in a suitable neutr...

Spatial variability in a crop field creates a need for precision agriculture. Economical and rapid means of identifying spatial variability is obtained through the use of geotechnology (remotely sensed images of the crop field, image processing, GIS modeling approach, and GPS usage) and data mining techniques for model development. Higher-end image processing techniques are followed to establis...

believe this may be due to inexperience with this novel technology, although other influential factors could be that this study, in contrast to others, also included some patients with persistent AF and had a longer follow-up period. Unfortunately, the study did not report how many pulmonary veins were in fact electrically reconnected with re-ablation procedures. This could provide more informa...

BACKGROUND Cryoballoon-based pulmonary vein isolation (CB-PVI) has been widely used for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Although generally safe and effective, the procedure may be associated with pulmonary vein (PV) stenosis and bronchial or esophageal injury. The mechanisms leading to these complications have not been studied in detail. Our aim was to examine acute effects of cryoballoon...

Background: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is the cornerstone of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in both paroxysmal and persistent AF. However, this procedure is still challenging and time consuming. Objective: The aim of this study was to present our approach for PVI using a novel circular irrigated multielectrode mapping and ablation catheter (nMARQ) and to present acute and mid-term result...

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is the standard catheter ablation procedure for patients with recurrent, symptomatic, drug-refractory paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). Hyperlinked to this article is a video that shows a PVI procedure performed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, with the use of image guidance from a cardiac magnetic resonance image obtained the day before the procedu...

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with atrial remodeling, including atrial cellular pathology [1,2], left atrial enlargement [3], and low voltage on electroanatomic mapping (EAM)[4]. Recent studies have identified late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in AF subjects pre-PVI as novel evidence of LA remodeling [5]. One study compared voltage by EAM obtained prior to a pulmonary vein i...

A determinant formula for a class of algebraic solutions to Painlevé VI equation (PVI) is presented. This expression is regarded as a special case of the universal characters. The entries of the determinant are given by the Jacobi polynomials. Degeneration to the rational solutions of PV and PIII is discussed by applying the coalescence procedure. Relationship between Umemura polynomials associ...