AIMS Pulmonary vein ablation offers the potential to cure patients with atrial fibrillation. In this study, we investigated the incidence of pulmonary vein stenosis after radiofrequency catheter ablation of refractory atrial fibrillation by systematic long-term follow-up. METHODS AND RESULTS Forty-seven patients with refractory and highly symptomatic atrial fibrillation underwent radiofrequen...

BACKGROUND Segmental ostial catheter ablation (SOCA) to isolate the pulmonary veins (PVs) and left atrial catheter ablation (LACA) to encircle the PVs both may eliminate paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). The relative efficacy of these 2 techniques has not been directly compared. METHODS AND RESULTS Of 80 consecutive patients with symptomatic PAF (age, 52+/-10 years), 40 patients underwent...

OBJECTIVES We present the initial clinical human experience with the use of a robotic remote navigation system (Hansen Medical, Mountain View, California), to perform left and right atrial mapping and radiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL). BACKGROUND Catheter ablation is an established curative modality for various arrhythmias. A robotic steerable sheath...

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation represents an important advance in the management of children with cardiac arrhythmias and has rapidly become the standard and effective line of therapy for supraventricular tachycardias (SVTs) in pediatrics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intermediate term follow up results of radiofrequency catheter ablation in trea...

Post-surgical arrhythmias include a wide range of arrhythmias occurring late after cardiac surgery and represent a complex substrate for catheter ablation either because of extended scar and remodeling or because of limited access to the area of interest. Novel image integration and ablation tools have made the catheter ablation in this population both feasible and successful. We review a struc...

The population of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) continues to expand and emerges to be the most common arrhythmia we deal with. Referrals to centers performing catheter based ablation procedures for AF also continue to grow as catheter ablation becomes an increasingly accepted therapeutic approach. In this article we will describe the infrastructure we have developed to manage our atria...

Background: One of the recognised complications of left atrial ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) is stroke. Left atrial (LA) thrombus, which may be dislodged by catheter manipulation, is an absolute contraindication to ablation. It is unclear whether imaging of the left atrial appendage (LAA) by transesophageal echo (TEE) is mandatory to exclude LA clot prior to ablation, particularly in "l...

Since its inception in the 1990s, catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) has been a continuously evolving procedure. Ablation strategies have adapted to advances in technology including new catheter designs, innovations in mapping systems, and alternative energy sources. Moreover, catheter ablation has stimulated and responded to an improved understanding of the mechanisms of initiation ...

A 60-year-old male presented with chronic atrial fibrillation. A trans-femoral catheter ablation was planned. The catheter was impacted in the left atrial wall (Fig. 1). Consequently, the procedure was interrupted before achieving resynchronisation. Catheter withdrawal was only possible after median sternotomy and closed manipulation of the catheter to release it.

Left atrial radiofrequency catheter ablation has been recognized as an important treatment option for drugrefractory symptomatic atrial fibrillation.1 Recent consensus on technique favors catheter ablation directed to the left atrium near the pulmonary vein (PV) ostium to achieve PV isolation.2 However, ablation in the region of the ligament of Marshall (LOM) to achieve electrical isolation of ...