BACKGROUND Radiofrequency left atrial catheter ablation has become a routine procedure for treatment of atrial fibrillation. The aim of this study was to assess with preprocedural and postprocedural cerebral magnetic resonance imaging the thromboembolic risk, either silent or clinically manifest, in the context of atrial fibrillation ablation. The secondary end point was the identification of c...

OBJECTIVES We sought to use intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) to identify the anatomic origin of focal right atrial tachycardias and to define their relation with the crista terminalis (CT). BACKGROUND Previous studies using ICE during mapping of atrial flutter and inappropriate sinus tachycardia have demonstrated an important relation between endocardial anatomy and electrophysiologic even...

A 68-year-old man without any structural heart disease underwent ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation in 2008 (isolation of 4 pulmonary veins and electrogram-based ablation of the posteroinferior left atrium) and 2009 (left pulmonary vein reisolation and linear ablation of the left atrial [LA] roof with demonstration of bidirectional block). Recently, he was referred for the ablation of r...

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 ...

Case report A 53-year-old man underwent an ablation procedure for atrial fibrillation; however, the tip of the Lasso catheter (Biosense Webster, Inc, Diamond Bar, California) used for the ablation was entrapped in the mitral subvalvular apparatus (Figure 1A & B). Despite extensive efforts, the tip of the catheter broke and attempts at extraction were unsuccessful. The catheter tip was entrapped...

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using a percutaneous catheter is a common approach to treat supraventricular arrhythmias. Atrial fibrillation (AF) frequently arises from an abnormal focus at or near the junction of the pulmonary veins and the left atrium, thus leading to the feasibility of more focused ablation techniques directed at these structures. Catheter-based ablation, using RFA or cryoabl...

Catheter ablation for the management of atrial fibrillation (AF) has evolved as a successful therapy widely used. Women with AF show a higher risk for AF-related morbidity due to stroke, a poorer tolerance to antiarrhythmic pharmacological therapy and a weaker quality of life; for this reason a curative, catheter-based approach for AF appears very attractive in women. Reported details on female...

AIMS Pulmonary vein (PV) stenosis has been described as a complication after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. The aim of the study was to investigate the diagnostic role of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in the assessment of PV stenosis. METHODS Ninety-one patients (71 men, mean age 57+/-16years), initially treated by catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation, underwent re-abl...

BACKGROUND Targets for radiofrequency (RF) ablation of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and nonidiopathic ventricular tachycardia are increasingly being selected on the basis of anatomic considerations. Because fluoroscopy provides only limited information about the relationship between catheter positions and cardiac structures and is associated with radiation risk, other approaches to mapp...