Circumferential pulmonary vein linear ablation for treating patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation / 中国介入心脏病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the underlying mechanism for recurrence of atrial fibrillation (Afib) after trans- catheter ablation and the impact of repeat ablation on Afib. Methods Patients with symptomatic and ECG confirmed recurrent Afib were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent circumferential pulmonary vein linear ablation (CPVA) under the guidance of three dimension mapping system. The end-points of the procedure were electrical isolation of pulmonary vein (PVs)s and completeness of circumferential linear lesion around PVs. A systematic follow-up was conducted to evaluate the rate of atrial tachyarrhythmia free after the second ablation. Results Twenty-three cases (51.1% of the total recurrent cases of the same time) with recurrent Afib included in this study received second ablation. Among them, 13 cases underwent segmental PV ablation and the other 10 cases received CPVA. 56.5% (13/23) of the patients suffered from persistent and chronic Afib. Recovered conduction rate of PV-left atrium (LA) was 92.3% (48/52) in patients who had undergone SPVA during their first ablation and 75.0% (30/40) in patients who had received CPVA previously. Prolonged procedure time, more fluoroscopic exposure and higher radiofrequency needed were observed in patients who had undergone SPVA during their first ablation. 82.6% (19/23) of the patients were free from atrial tachy-arrhythmia during a mean follow-up of 4.2?3.5 (4.0～9.0) months after the second ablation. Conclusion Recovered conduction of PV-LA was the major factor responsible for the recurrence of Afib after the first procedure. CPVA under the guidance of three dimension mapping system may be feasiable for patient with recurrent atrial fibrilation.