Frequency Gradient Within Coronary Sinus Predicts the Long-Term Outcome of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Catheter Ablation [Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology]

BackgroundThe coronary sinus (CS), as a junction of the atria, contributes to atrial fibrillation (AF) by developing unstable reentry, and isolating the atria by ablation at the CS could terminate AF. The present study evaluated whether AF activities at the CS in a subset of patients contributed to AF maintenance and predicted clinical outcome of ablation.Methods and ResultsWe studied 122 consecutive patients who had a first‐time radiofrequency ablation for persistent AF. Bipolar electrograms were obtained from multiple regions of the left atrium by a Lasso mapping catheter before ablation. Pulmonary vein isolation terminated AF in 12 patients (9.8%). Sequential stepwise ablation was conducted in pulmonary vein isolation nontermination patients and succeeded in 22 patients (18%). In the stepwise termination group, AF frequency in the proximal CS (CSp) was significantly higher (10.2±2.1 Hz versus 8.3±1.8 Hz, P

Source: JAHA:Journal of the American Heart Association - March 2, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Yin, X., Zhao, Z., Gao, L., Chang, D., Xiao, X., Zhang, R., Chen, Q., Cheng, J., Yang, Y., Xi, Y., Xia, Y. Tags: Arrhythmias, Catheter Ablation and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator, Electrophysiology, Clinical Studies Original Research Source Type: research