Congenital heart defects are a major congenital abnormality and are assuming increasing importance. A study was undertaken to estimate the incidence of congenital heart defects in Northern Ireland over a five year period (1974-1978), to determine the age at diagnosis and to assess the risk of recurrence in sibs. An incidence rate of 7.3 per 1000 total births was found. This reduced to 3.1 per 1...

BACKGROUND Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) for atrial tachyarrhythmias in postoperative congenital heart disease (CHD) patients has a low success rate and a high recurrence rate. This study explores the reasons for these constraints. METHODS A total of 49 consecutive postoperative CHD patients who received RFCA for atrial tachyarrhythmias between 1993 and 2010 were enrolled. RESULTS...

Background: PR interval prolongation has recently been shown to associate with advanced left atrial remodeling and atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after catheter ablation. While different genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated 13 loci to associate with the PR interval as an AF endophenotype their subsequent associations with AF remodeling and response to catheter ablation ar...

Because of its high success rate and low morbidity, radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation has become first line treatment for many arrhythmias. In this procedure, one or more electrode catheters are advanced percutaneously through the vasculature to contact cardiac tissues. A diagnostic study is performed to define the arrhythmia mechanism, and subsequently an ablation catheter is positioned ad...

Cardiac arrhythmias are important contributors to morbidity and mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Such patients manifest a substrate resulting from altered autonomics, repolarization abnormalities, and ischemia. Supraventricular arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation and flutter are associated with worsened outcomes, and maintenance of sinus rhythm is a goal. Su...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The optimal treatments for atrial fibrillation have long been sought among rhythm control and rate control strategies. Unfortunately, rhythm control strategies with antiarrhythmic drugs have proven to be a disappointment. Catheter ablation techniques, however, have been rapidly advancing and have the potential to offer a permanent cure. Rhythm control with catheter ablation ma...

  Background: Catheter ablation is widely used for treatment of atrial fibrillation. The use of fluoroscopic and non-fluoroscopic mapping systems in catheter ablation is common. This study conducted to investigate the safety and effectiveness of Navx non-fluoroscopic mapping system.   Methods : In this study, the appropriate electronic databases including Cochrane Library and Ovid Medline searc...

Background Arrhythmia recurrence following acutely successful catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with recovery of conduction across previously complete circumferential or left atrial (LA) linear lesions. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be able to provide a non-invasive means to identify gaps in ablation lesions. This study assesse...

BACKGROUND Recent observational studies have shown that patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have higher risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence and, therefore, the value of catheter ablation therapy in patients with CKD has been doubted. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to systematically analyze the effect of CKD on recurrence of AF following catheter ablation. METHODS PubMed ...

Situs ambiguous is rare congenital anomaly in adults. In 2 adult patients who admitted for different cardiac problems, situs ambiguous with polysplenia was detected. A 42-year-old male admitted for radio frequent catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation, and he had left-sided inferior vena cava (IVC), hepatic segment of IVC interruption with hemiazygos continuation, multiple spleens and intesti...