The relevance of focal triggers in persistent atrial fibrillation (PerAF) and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (LSPAF) has not been previously investigated.
We prospectively evaluated the ...prevalence and distribution of AF triggers in patients referred for catheter ablation of PerAF and LSPAF.
We analyzed consecutive patients undergoing first time AF ablation who underwent a standardized trigger protocol including cardioversion of induced or spontaneous AF and infusion of up to 20 μg of isoproterenol for 15-20 minutes either before or after pulmonary vein (PV) isolation accomplished. Triggers were defined as AF/sustained atrial tachyarrhythmia or repetitive atrial premature depolarizations.
A total of 2168 patients were included (mean age 57 ± 11 years; 1636 75% men), with 1531 patients having paroxysmal AF (PAF) (71%), 496 having PerAF (23%), and 141 having LSPAF (7%). PV triggers were found in 1398 patients with PAF (91%), 449 patients with PerAF (91%), and 129 patients with LSPAF (91%) (P = .856 for comparison across groups). Non-PV triggers were elicited in a total of 234 patients (11%), and the prevalence was similar across the different types of AF (PAF, 165 11%; PerAF, 54 11%; LSPAF, 15 11%; P = .996 for comparison across groups).
PVs are the main AF trigger site in patients with PerAF and LSPAF, with an overall prevalence similar to that found in patients with PAF. These results support the current recommendations for PV isolation as the cornerstone of catheter ablation to eliminate AF triggers in PerAF and LSPAF.
COVID-19 and cardiac arrhythmias Bhatla, Anjali; Mayer, Michael M; Adusumalli, Srinath ...
Heart rhythm,
09/2020, Volume:
17, Issue:
9
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Early studies suggest that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with a high incidence of cardiac arrhythmias. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection may cause injury ...to cardiac myocytes and increase arrhythmia risk.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk of cardiac arrest and arrhythmias including incident atrial fibrillation (AF), bradyarrhythmias, and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) in a large urban population hospitalized for COVID-19. We also evaluated correlations between the presence of these arrhythmias and mortality.
We reviewed the characteristics of all patients with COVID-19 admitted to our center over a 9-week period. Throughout hospitalization, we evaluated the incidence of cardiac arrests, arrhythmias, and inpatient mortality. We also used logistic regression to evaluate age, sex, race, body mass index, prevalent cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and intensive care unit (ICU) status as potential risk factors for each arrhythmia.
Among 700 patients (mean age 50 ± 18 years; 45% men; 71% African American; 11% received ICU care), there were 9 cardiac arrests, 25 incident AF events, 9 clinically significant bradyarrhythmias, and 10 NSVTs. All cardiac arrests occurred in patients admitted to the ICU. In addition, admission to the ICU was associated with incident AF (odds ratio OR 4.68; 95% confidence interval CI 1.66-13.18) and NSVT (OR 8.92; 95% CI 1.73-46.06) after multivariable adjustment. Also, age and incident AF (OR 1.05; 95% CI 1.02-1.09) and prevalent heart failure and bradyarrhythmias (OR 9.75; 95% CI 1.95-48.65) were independently associated. Only cardiac arrests were associated with acute in-hospital mortality.
Cardiac arrests and arrhythmias are likely the consequence of systemic illness and not solely the direct effects of COVID-19 infection.
Catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia (VT) in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy improves short-term VT-free survival. We sought to determine the long-term outcomes of VT control ...and need for antiarrhythmic drug therapy after endocardial (ENDO) and adjuvant epicardial (EPI) substrate modification in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.
We examined 62 consecutive patients with Task Force criteria for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy referred for VT ablation with a minimum follow-up of 1 year. Catheter ablation was guided by activation/entrainment mapping for tolerated VT and pacemapping/targeting of abnormal substrate for unmappable VT. Adjuvant EPI ablation was performed when recurrent VT or persistent inducibility after ENDO-only ablation. Endocardial plus adjuvant EPI ablation was performed in 39 (63%) patients, including 13 who crossed over to ENDO-EPI after VT recurrence during follow-up, after ENDO-only ablation. Before ablation, 54 of 62 patients failed a mean of 2.4 antiarrhythmic drugs, including amiodarone in 29 (47%) patients. During follow-up of 56±44 months after the last ablation, VT-free survival was 71% with only a single VT episode in additional 9 patients (15%). At last follow-up, 39 (64%) patients were only on β-blockers or no treatment, 21 were on class 1 or 3 antiarrhythmic drugs (11 for atrial arrhythmias), and 2 were on amiodarone as a bridge to heart transplantation.
The long-term outcome after ENDO and adjuvant EPI substrate ablation of VT in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy is good. Most patients have complete VT control without amiodarone therapy and limited need for antiarrhythmic drugs.
The moderator band (MB) can be a source of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT), and idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF).
The purpose of this ...study was to define the electrocardiographic (ECG) characteristics and procedural techniques to successfully identify and ablate MB PVCs/VT.
In 10 patients with left bundle branch block morphology PVCs/VT, electroanatomic mapping in conjunction with intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) localized the site of origin of the PVCs to the MB. Clinical characteristics of the patients, ECG features, and procedural data were collected and analyzed.
Seven patients presented with IVF and 3 presented with monomorphic VT. In all patients, the ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) had a left bundle branch block QRS with a late precordial transition (>V4), a rapid downstroke of the QRS in the precordial leads, and a left superior frontal plane axis. Mean QRS duration was 152.7 ± 15.2 ms. Six patients required a repeat procedure. After mean follow-up of 21.5 ± 11.6 months, all patients were free of sustained VAs, with only 1 patient requiring antiarrhythmic drug therapy and 1 patient having isolated PVCs no longer inducing VF. There were no procedural complications.
VAs originating from the MB have a distinctive morphology and often are associated with PVC-induced ventricular fibrillation. Catheter ablation can be safely performed and is facilitated by ICE imaging.
While screening for and managing PVC-induced cardiomyopathy has its challenges, identifying patients at risk for sudden death from malignant PVCs is an even more formidable task. When a patient ...presents with apparently idiopathic PVCs, a careful history for syncope or presyncope, in addition to any family history of sudden death, may help identify the patients at greater risk. Identifying patients at risk therefore remains a disconcerting task: features such has T-wave inversions on ECG and complex ventricular ectopy during telemetry monitoring and stress testing should prompt more thorough evaluation, but larger studies are needed to better discriminate the risks in these patients.
Radiofrequency ablation of multiple or unmappable ventricular tachycardias (VTs) remains a challenge with unclear end points. We present our experience with a new strategy isolating core elements of ...VT circuits.
Patients with structural heart disease presenting for VT radiofrequency ablation at 2 centers were included. Strategy involved entrainment/activation mapping if VT was hemodynamically stable, and voltage mapping with electrogram analysis and pacemapping. Core isolation (CI) was performed incorporating putative isthmus and early exit site(s) based on standard criteria. If VT was noninducible, the dense scar (<0.5 mV) region was isolated. Successful CI was defined by exit block (20 mA at 2 ms) within the isolated region. VT inducibility was also assessed. Forty-four patients were included (mean age, 63; 95% male; 73% ischemic cardiomyopathy; mean left ventricular ejection fraction, 31%; 68% with multiple unstable VTs mean, 3+2). CI area was 11+12 versus 55+40 cm(2) total scar area. Additional substrate modification was performed in 27 (61%), and epicardial radiofrequency ablation was performed in 4 (9%) patients. CI was achieved in 37 (84%) and led to better VT-free survival (log rank P=0.013).
CI is a novel strategy with a discrete and measurable end point beyond VT inducibility to treat patients with multiple or unmappable VTs. The CI region can be selected based on standard characterization of suspected VT isthmus surrogates thus limiting ablation target size. Exit block within the isolated area is achievable in most and may further improve long-term success.
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