Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology最新文献

Background: Personalized radiofrequency (RF) ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF), adapting the ablation index (AI) to local left atrial wall thickness (LAWT), proved to be highly efficient maintaining high arrhythmia-free survival rates. However, multicentre data are lacking. This multicentre, prospective, non-randomized study was conducted at 5 tertiary hospitals and sought to assess the safety, efficacy, and reproducibility of the LAWT-guided ablation for PAF.

Methods: Consecutive patients referred for first-time PAF were prospectively enrolled. The LAWT maps were obtained from preprocedural multidetector computed tomography and integrated into the navigation system. AI was titrated according to the local LAWT, and the ablation line was personalized to avoid the thickest regions while encircling the pulmonary veins (PVs).

Results: A total 109 patients (60.1 ± 9.4 years, 64.2% male) were enrolled. Median procedure time was 61.7 min (48.4-83.8), fluoroscopy time was 1.0 min (0.4-3.3), and RF time was 13.9 min (12.3-16.8). Median AI tailored to the local LAWT was 393 (374-412) for the anterior wall and 340 (315-378) for the posterior wall. Right and left PVs first-pass isolation was achieved in 89% and 91.7% of the patients, respectively. At 12-month follow-up, freedom from any atrial arrhythmia was 93.4% (95% CI 88.7-98.1), without differences across centres (P = 0.169). One patient experienced femoral artery pseudoaneurysm, with no other serious procedural-related complication.

Conclusion: The Ablate-by-LAWT study proved that LAWT-guided PV isolation for PAF is safe, effective, and efficient in a multicentre setting. Twelve-month recurrence-free survival exceeded 90% (NCT04218604).

Background: The atrial electroanatomic substrate is an essential component in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the electrophysiological markers of susceptible atria for AF are not well-characterized. This study aimed to assess atrial conduction indices on surface electrocardiogram (ECG) and intracardiac electrogram (EGM) as predictors of initiation and recurrence of AF after successful ablation.

Methods: We studied all consecutive patients who underwent electrophysiological study and catheter ablation for AF (study group) or atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) (control group) from 2013 to 2018. Atrial conduction indices were measured on ECG and EGM during the electrophysiology study. Clinical data was obtained from the medical record.

Results: A total of 387 patients with AF (mean age 63 years, 31% female) were studied and compared to 94 patents in control group. The initiation of AF was associated with significant prolongation of atrial conduction indices on ECG and EGM (p < 0.05). During a mean follow up of 5 ± 2 years, recurrence of AF (48%) after successful ablation occurred in patients with prolonged P wave duration, left atrial (LA) conduction interval, proximal to distal coronary sinus (pCS-dCS) interval, and P wave to dCS interval (p < 0.05). Machine learning modeling determined that pCS-dCS interval, QRS duration, and LA duration in leads V1 and II are most impactful conduction indices in association with AF recurrence.

Conclusion: Prolonged atrial conduction intervals, particularly LA (pCS-dCS), indicate susceptible substrate for the onset and the recurrence of AF after ablation. LA conduction indices can facilitate early detection and management of AF.

Background: Radiofrequency balloon (RFB) ablation (HELIOSTAR™, Biosense Webster) has been developed to improve pulmonary vein ablation efficiency over traditional point-by-point RF ablation approaches. We aimed to find effective parameters for RFB ablation that result in chronic scar verified by late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR).

Methods: A chronic canine model (n = 8) was used to ablate in the superior vena cava (SVC), the right superior and the left inferior pulmonary vein (RSPV and LIPV), and the left atrial appendage (LAA) with a circumferential ablation approach (RF energy was delivered to all electrodes simultaneously) for 20 s or 60 s. The electroanatomical map with the ablation tags was projected onto the 3-month post-ablation LGE-CMR. Tags were divided into two groups depending on whether they correlated with CMR-based scar (ScarTags) or non-scar tissue (Non-ScarTags). The effective parameters for scar formation were estimated by multivariate logistic regression.

Results: This study assessed 80 lesions in the SVC, 80 lesions in the RSPV, 20 lesions in the LIPV, and 30 lesions in the LAA (168 ScarTags and 42 Non-ScarTags). In the multivariate analysis, two variables were associated with chronic scar formation: temperature of electrode before energy application (odds ratio (OR) 0.805, p = 0.0075) and long RF duration (OR 2.360, p = 0.0218), whereas impedance drop was not associated (OR 0.986, p = 0.373).

Conclusion: Lower temperature of the electrode before ablation and long ablation duration are critical parameters for durable atrial scar formation with RFB ablation.

Background: Electrographic flow (EGF) mapping reconstructs atrial electrical wavefront propagation, potentially revealing sources of atrial fibrillation (AF). Electrographic flow consistency (EGFC) measures the concurrence of wavefront patterns and may provide insights into atrial substrate health. This study aimed to compare EGF patterns during atrial fibrillation (AF) with sinus rhythm (SR) and explore the correlation between EGFC and regional bipolar voltage.

Methods: In this single-center, prospective study, AF patients underwent mapping of the atria using bipolar voltage and EGF mapping. Mapping was performed during both AF and SR using a 16-electrode grid catheter (bipolar mapping) and a 64-pole basket catheter (EGF mapping). EGFC was computed as the average modulus of individual EGF vectors, reflecting flow pattern consistency.

Results: Ten patients were enrolled. EGF identified 11 sources with a mean source activity of 32 ± 9% during AF. Eight out of eleven sources in AF converted to passive "sinks" when mapped in SR. EGFC was significantly lower during AF compared to SR (0.74 ± 0.14 vs 1.0 ± 0.11 AUs, P < 0.01), consistent with EGFC quantifying the more chaotic wavefront propagation during arrhythmia. No spatial correlation between areas of high EGFC during AF and SR was observed. EGFC correlated with bipolar voltage across rhythms and atria (r = 0.647, P < 0.0001).

Conclusion: EGF patterns varied by rhythm with AF showing lower EGFC values. EGFC correlated with bipolar voltage across rhythms and atria, suggesting its potential as an atrial myopathy marker akin to high-density voltage mapping and offering insights into atrial substrate health. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06260670.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are often comorbid and associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events such as stroke. We evaluated the effectiveness, safety, healthcare resource utilization, and costs of rivaroxaban versus warfarin in patients with nonvalvular AF (NVAF) and comorbid OSA.

Methods: We used the IQVIA PharMetrics^® Plus adjudicated claims database to evaluate patients with NVAF, OSA, and moderate-to-severe stroke risk who initiated rivaroxaban or warfarin between November 2011 and December 2022. We adjusted for potential confounders with propensity score overlap weighting. Primary endpoints were evaluated based on intent-to-treat (ITT) and on-treatment follow-up to compare stroke or systemic embolism risk, major bleeding risk, all-cause healthcare resource utilization (inpatient hospitalizations, emergency department visits, outpatient visits, and pharmacy fills), and costs (per patient per year [PPPY]) by treatment cohort.

Results: In total, 14,765 patients were included (9133 received rivaroxaban; 5632 received warfarin). Rivaroxaban significantly reduced stroke or systemic embolism versus warfarin by 26% (ITT-hazard ratio, 0.74 [95% CI 0.60-0.91]; P = 0.004) and 30% (on-treatment-hazard ratio, 0.70 [95% CI 0.55-0.89]; P = 0.004). Major bleeding was not significantly different between rivaroxaban and warfarin in either analysis. All-cause healthcare resource utilization was significantly reduced with rivaroxaban versus warfarin, leading to significantly reduced PPPY costs.

Conclusions: Among patients with NVAF and OSA, rivaroxaban was associated with a significant reduction in stroke or systemic embolism risk versus warfarin with no difference in major bleeding. Rivaroxaban significantly reduced healthcare resource utilization and costs compared with warfarin, providing support for the use of rivaroxaban in this population.