Conduction Heterogeneity: Impact of Underlying Heart Disease and Atrial Fibrillation.

Objectives: The goal of this study is to investigate the impact of various underlying heart diseases (UHDs) and prior atrial fibrillation (AF) episodes on conduction heterogeneity.

Background: It is unknown whether intra-atrial conduction during sinus rhythm differs between various UHD or is influenced by AF episodes.

Methods: Epicardial sinus rhythm mapping of the right atrium, Bachmann's bundle (BB), left atrium and pulmonary vein area was performed in 447 participants (median age: 67 [interquartile range (IQR): 59 to 73] years) with or without AF undergoing cardiac surgery for ischemic heart disease, (ischemic and) valvular heart disease, or congenital heart disease.

Classification of sinus rhythm single potential morphology in patients with mitral valve disease.

Aims: The morphology of unipolar single potentials (SPs) contains information on intra-atrial conduction disorders and possibly the substrate underlying atrial fibrillation (AF). This study examined the impact of AF episodes on features of SP morphology during sinus rhythm (SR) in patients with mitral valve disease.

Methods And Results: Intraoperative epicardial mapping (interelectrode distance 2 mm) of the right and left atrium (RA, LA), Bachmann's bundle (BB), and pulmonary vein area (PVA) was performed in 67 patients (27 male, 67 ± 11 years) with or without a history of paroxysmal AF (PAF).

Simultaneous Endo-Epicardial Mapping of the Human Right Atrium: Unraveling Atrial Excitation.

Background The significance of endo-epicardial asynchrony (EEA) and atrial conduction block (CB), which play an important role in the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF) during sinus rhythm is poorly understood. The aim of our study was therefore to examine 3-dimensional activation of the human right atrium (RA). Methods and Results Eighty patients (79% men, 39% history of AF) underwent simultaneous endo-epicardial sinus rhythm mapping of the inferior, middle and superior RA.

Distribution of Conduction Disorders in Patients With Congenital Heart Disease and Right Atrial Volume Overload.

Objectives: This study sought to quantify characteristics of atrial conduction disorders in patients with right atrial (RA) volume overload.

Background: Patients with an interatrial shunt are prone to developing atrial fibrillation (AF), which may be related to conduction disorders occurring due to atrial stretch.

Methods: Thirty-one patients undergoing surgery for an interatrial shunt (49 ± 14 years of age) underwent epicardial sinus rhythm mapping of the RA, Bachmann's bundle (BB), and left atrium (LA).

The Impact of Filter Settings on Morphology of Unipolar Fibrillation Potentials.

Using unipolar atrial electrogram morphology as guidance for ablative therapy is regaining interest. Although standardly used in clinical practice during ablative therapy, the impact of filter settings on morphology of unipolar AF potentials is unknown. Thirty different filters were applied to 2,557,045 high-resolution epicardial AF potentials recorded from ten patients.

Atrial fibrillation fingerprinting; spotting bio-electrical markers to early recognize atrial fibrillation by the use of a bottom-up approach (AFFIP): Rationale and design.

Background: The exact pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF) remains incompletely understood and treatment of AF is associated with high recurrence rates. Persistence of AF is rooted in the presence of electropathology, defined as complex electrical conduction disorders caused by structural damage of atrial tissue. The atrial fibrillation fingerprinting (AFFIP) study aims to characterize electropathology, enabling development of a novel diagnostic instrument to predict AF onset and early progression.

Heterogeneity in Conduction Underlies Obesity-Related Atrial Fibrillation Vulnerability.

Background: Obese patients are more vulnerable to development of atrial fibrillation but pathophysiology underlying this relation is only partly understood. The aim of this study is to compare the severity and extensiveness of conduction disorders between obese patients and nonobese patients measured at a high-resolution scale.

Methods: Patients (N=212) undergoing cardiac surgery (male:161, 63±11 years) underwent epicardial mapping of the right atrium, Bachmann bundle, and left atrium during sinus rhythm.