Atrial premature activity detected after an ischaemic stroke unveils atrial myopathy.

Background: Recent publications suggest that left atrial (LA) myopathy is a potential source of thromboembolism, independent of atrial fibrillation.

Aims: We sought to investigate whether the presence of atrial premature activity after an ischaemic stroke is associated with LA remodelling and dysfunction, and might be a surrogate marker of LA myopathy.

Methods: After an ischaemic stroke or a transient ischaemic attack, patients without known atrial fibrillation or overt heart disease were included prospectively in the study.

Left atrial radiofrequency ablation during mitral valve surgery: a prospective randomized multicentre study (SAFIR).

Background: Randomized studies evaluating left atrial radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation undergoing mitral valve surgery are scarce and monocentric.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of left atrial RFA concomitant with mitral valve surgery to restore and maintain sinus rhythm.

Methods: The SAFIR is a multicentre, double-blinded, centrally randomized study involving four university hospitals.

Is radiofrequency ablation of accessory pathways always necessary? The case of a variant of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

A 16-year-old boy was referred for radiofrequency ablation of an accessory pathway. He had not experienced palpitations, but a normal electrocardiogram was a prerequisite for enrollment in a professional soccer school. The electrocardiogram showed a PR interval of 0.

Radiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation: the first 100 cases in Lyon.

The aim of the study was to estimate the efficacy and complications of the first ablations of atrial fibrillation (AF) performed in a single teaching institution. The first 100 consecutive patients with symptomatic paroxysmal, persistent or permanent AF treated by application of radiofrequency in the left atrium, were included. In the patients with paroxysmal AF, success was judged as complete in 21 out of the 35 (60%).