Current trends in transcatheter treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

ABSTRACT

Catheter ablation has become established as a gold standard therapy for patients suffering from many supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, offering a curative alternative to these patients by way of destroying or isolating the arrhythmia substrate. Radiofrequency has been used as a primary source of energy for transcatheter ablation due to its safety and efficacy. Another technique is transcoronary chemical ablation, consisting of the infusion of ethanol through the coronary blood supply to the site of origin of the arrhythmia. Most supraventricular arrhythmias like atrial tachycardia, atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia and arrhythmias related to atrioventricular accessory pathways can be managed with radiofrequency catheter ablation. However, some concerns exist regarding the value of this technique for the treatment of atrial flutter and ventricular tachycardia. In this review we discuss the state-of-the-art in catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias and its future perspectives.