Catheter ablation is at the forefront of the management of a range of atrial arrhythmias. In this Series paper, we discuss the underlying mechanisms and the current role of catheter ablation for the three most common atrial arrhythmias encountered in clinical practice: focal atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter, and atrial fibrillation. The mechanisms of focal atrial tachycardia and atrial flutte...

A patient was admitted for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. Cardiac computed tomography and transesophageal echocardiography revealed the absence of the left atrial appendage. However, the right atrial appendage looked normal and the level of pro B-natriuretic peptide was within normal limits. Successful catheter ablation was performed without any procedural complications and the sinus...

F ocal atrial tachycardias (ATs) surrounding the region of the anterior atrial septum (AAS) and their characteristic P waves, electrophysiological characteristics and catheter abla-tion results have been the subject of previous reports. 1–10 The close proximity to the atrioventricular (AV) node and the complex anatomy of this region continue to pose challenges during catheter ablation, and alth...

INTRODUCTION No prior studies have quantitatively analyzed the characteristics of bipolar or unipolar electrograms that may be helpful in identifying successful ostial ablation sites in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing segmental pulmonary vein isolation. METHODS AND RESULTS The characteristics of bipolar and unipolar electrograms recorded at 185 successful and 120 unsuccessful ost...

BACKGROUND To predict the recurrence of atrial fibrillation is important for selecting patients who will be undergoing catheter ablation, several studies respectively evaluated the risk factor of the recurrence of atrial fibrillation post-ablation. OBJECTIVE To investigate the factors predicting the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after catheter ablation. METHODS 186 patients (55.12 ...

Atrial fibrillation, a cardiac arrhythmia characterized by unsynchronized electrical activity in the atrial chambers of the heart, is a rapidly growing problem in modern societies. One treatment, referred to as catheter ablation, targets specific parts of the left atrium for radio frequency ablation using an intracardiac catheter. Magnetic resonance imaging has been used for both preand and pos...

Curative catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation has made some important advances during the last years toward a reproducible and effective procedure. Besides the role of the trigger to induce atrial fibrillation episodes by rapid burst from within the pulmonary veins (PVs), invasive electrophysiological studies could also demonstrate the importance of the close-by surrounding atrial myocardiu...

There is limited literature available regarding PV (pulmonary vein) stenosis management. Starting from its incidence, subsequent follow up using imaging technologies to monitor the success and the way of managing different groups pose varied opinions. However, with newer technological advancements and better understanding of mechanism of the atrial fibrillation ablation, the incidence of PV ste...

An increase in cardiac radiofrequency catheter ablation for treating refractory atrial fibrillation has resulted in an increased prevalence of complications. Among numerous complications of radiofrequency catheter ablation, atrio-esophageal fistula, although rare, is known to have fatal results. We report a case of successful management of an atrio-esophageal fistula as a complication of cardia...

only, full publication included1. Chan P, Vijan S, Morady F, Oral H. Cost-effectiveness of left atrial catheter ablation,antiarrhythmic therapy, and rate control therapy for paroxysmal and chronic atrialfibrillation. Circulation 2005;111(20):E318. 2. Reynolds MR, Ellis E, Danilov T, Zimetbaum P, Josephson ME, Cohen DJ. Costeffectiveness of radiofrequency catheter ablation vs. an...