Atrial late gadolinium enhancement (Atrial-LGE) and electroanatomic voltage mapping (Atrial-EAVM) quantify the anatomical and functional extent of atrial cardiomyopathy. We aimed to explore the relationships between, and outcomes from, these modalities in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing ablation.
Patients undergoing first-time ablation had disease severities quantified using both Atrial-LGE and Atrial-EAVM. Correlations between modalities and their relationships with clinical features and arrhythmia recurrence were assessed.
In 123 atrial fibrillation patients (60 ± 10 years), Atrial-EAVM was moderately correlated with Atrial-LGE (r = .34, p < .001), with a mean fibrosis burden of 47.2% ± 14.91%. Agreement was strongest in the highest tertile of fibrosis burden (mean of differences 16.8% (95% CI = −24.4% to 57.9%, p = .433). Fibrosis burden was greater for Atrial-LGE than Atrial-EAVM (50.7% ± 10.7% vs. 13.7% ± 7.13%, p < .005) for patients in the lowest tertile who were younger, had smaller atria and a greater frequency of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Both Atrial EAVM and Atrial LGE were associated with recurrence of arrhythmia following ablation (Atrial-LGE HR = 1.02 (95% CI = 1.01–1.04), p = .047; Atrial-EAVM HR = 1.02 (95% CI = 1.005–1.03), p = .007). A low fibrosis burden (<15%) by Atrial-EAVM identified patients with very low arrhythmia recurrence. In contrast, a much higher fibrosis burden (>66%) by Atrial-LGE identified patients failing to respond to ablation.
We demonstrate for the first time that the level of agreement between Atrial-EAVM and Atrial-LGE is dependent on the level of atrial cardiomyopathy disease severity. The functional consequences of atrial cardiomyopathy are most evident in patients with the highest anatomical extent of disease.
Aim: In light of many recent advances in the field of vasovagal syncope, a selective review has been undertaken of these developments.
Methods: Recent publications on the following topics were reviewed; understanding of vasovagal syncope pathophysiology, tilt-testing methodology and interpretation, drug, ablation and pacemaker therapy.
Results and conclusions: The vasovagal syncope field is very active in researching its pathophysiology, using it to gain better understanding of the process and applying this knowledge to therapy.
Cryoballoon ablation is less operator-dependent than radiofrequency ablation. Recently, size-adjustable cryoballoons (SA-CBs) have become available. We sought to analyze the individual baseline operator experience's impact on procedural results.
This multicenter observational study included atrial fibrillation (AF) patients who underwent pulmonary vein (PV) isolation using SA-CBs capable of 28-mm or 31-mm balloon sizes. Experienced (E-group) or less experienced (LE-group) operators were defined as experiencing > 100 or ≤ 100 cryoballoon procedures, respectively.
Among 510 patients (67 ± 11 years, 355 men, 325 paroxysmal AF [PAF]) who underwent an SA-CB ablation, 240 and 270 were in the E-group and LE-group, respectively. All cryoballoon parameters were similar between the groups, except for a significantly higher 31-mm balloon isolation rate in the E-group than LE-group, especially for right superior PVs. Cryoballoon-related phrenic nerve injury occurred in 34 (6.7%) patients and tended to be higher in the LE-group than E-group (8.1% vs. 5.0%, p = 0.16). The AF freedom was comparable between the groups for both PAF and non-PAF patients. A total of 36(7.1%) patients underwent re-do procedures at 5.2 ± 2.6 months post-index procedure. The PV reconnection rate was significantly higher in the LE-group than E-group (27.1% vs. 8.9%, p < 0.01), and this trend was more pronounced for right PVs than left PVs.
In AF ablation using SA-CBs, the overall procedural efficacy and safety were comparable between the E-group and LE-group. However, 100 CB procedures seemed to still be in the middle of a learning curve for selecting the balloon size and balloon position, especially for right PVs.
Catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation yields sub-optimal success rates partly due to the considerable heterogeneity within the patient population. Identifying distinct patient phenotypes based on post-ablation prognosis could improve patient selection for additional therapies and optimize treatment strategies.
We studied all patients who underwent catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation in the DECAAF II trial. Out of 44 participating centers, 25% were randomly chosen as a validation set. A Gradient Boosting Method determined essential features for arrhythmia recurrence prediction and the number of clusters was determined according to the average silhouette width. K-medoids cluster analysis identified subgroups based on these features, and Kaplan–Meier curves were further compared among different clusters.
Among 815 patients, 570 served as a training set and 245 as a validation set. Using the training set, the GBM model achieved an AUC of 0.874. K-medoids cluster analysis used LA volume, BMI, baseline fibrosis, and age, resulting in two clusters. Cluster 1 patients were older, had higher baseline fibrosis, higher BMI, and greater LA volume compared to Cluster 2. Atrial arrhythmia recurrence rates were significantly higher in Cluster 1 (51.7% vs. 35.0%, p = 0.0002), and survival analysis showed a significant difference in primary recurrence outcomes (HR = 1.71, p < 0.0001). The validation set confirmed these findings.
Utilizing machine learning, we identified a high-risk cluster for procedural failure in catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation within the DECAAF II trial population. The primary differentiating factors of this high-risk cluster include older age, high left atrial fibrosis, elevated BMI, and increased left atrial volume.
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：