Analysis of the electrical patterns and structural remodeling in atrial fibrillation.

Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is a promising therapy, whose success is limited by uncertainty in the knowledge of the mechanisms sustaining the arrhythmia. Many theories based on atrial electrical activation or on atrial structural remodeling have been proposed to target AF mechanisms. We hypothesized two prospective approaches could be linked and both computational analysis of atrial electrical patterns and fibrotic tissue location and extent could give further insights on the role of rotors and spatial relationship between them and atrial fibrosis.