Pulmonary vein isolation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in patients with impaired systolic function.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with impaired left ventricular (LV) systolic function.

Background: To date, PVI has been performed primarily in patients with normal LV function. Yet, many AF patients have impaired LV systolic function.

Evidence of specialized conduction cells in human pulmonary veins of patients with atrial fibrillation.

Unlabelled: Specialized Conducting Cells in Human PV.

Introduction: Depolarizations similar to those from the sinus node have been documented from the pulmonary veins after isolation procedures. We assessed the hypothesis that sinus node-like tissue is present in the pulmonary veins of humans.

Use of different catheter ablation technologies for treatment of typical atrial flutter: acute results and long-term follow-up.

Objectives: We report the acute success and long-term follow-up in consecutive patients undergoing catheter ablation of typical right atrial flutter (AFL) using different ablation technologies.

Methods: One hundred and two patients presenting for treatment of AFL to our laboratory were included in the study. Based on availability and physician preference, ablation was performed with either a cooled-tip catheter (39 patients, group I), an 8- or 10-mm tip catheter connected to a high-power radiofrequency (RF) generator (25 patients, group II), or a 4- or 5-mm tip catheter (38 patients, group III).

Three-dimensional reconstruction of pulmonary veins in patients with atrial fibrillation and controls: morphological characteristics of different veins.

Multidetector computed tomography can be used to evaluate the anatomy of pulmonary veins (PVs) in patients with AF. The study evaluated two groups. Group 1 included 61 patients assessed following PV ablation with ultrasound of RF energy.

Use of intracardiac echocardiography for prediction of chronic pulmonary vein stenosis after ablation of atrial fibrillation.

Introduction: Measurements of pulmonary vein (PV) flow with intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) immediately before and after PV isolation may be a useful method for predicting which patients will develop chronic PV stenosis.

Methods And Results: We assessed preablation and postablation flows in each of the four PVs using a phase-array ICE catheter in 95 patients (mean age 52 +/- 13) undergoing atrial fibrillation ablation. The ostium of each of the PVs was defined using angiography, electrical mapping, and ICE imaging.