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Background: An incidental lesion of the parasympathetic ganglia during circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (CPVI) may affect heart rate variability (HRV)., Aims: We studied the pattern of changes in HRV parameters and the relationship between the 1‑year HRV change following CPVI and the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF)., Methods: A total of 100 consecutive patients undergoing CPVI for paroxysmal AF were enrolled (mean [SD] age, 56 [11.2] years; 61 men). We measured HRV on the day before and after CPVI, and then at 1 month as well as 3, 6, and 12 months after CPVI using 24‑hour Holter monitoring., Results: During the median follow‑up of 33 months, 38 patients experienced the late recurrence of AF (LRAF). Compared with the pre‑CPVI values, HRV was significantly attenuated on day 1 after CPVI in all patients. However, at 3 to 6 months after CPVI, all HRV parameters remained significantly decreased in LRAF‑free patients but not in those with LRAF. The multivariate Cox analysis showed that early AF recurrence within the blanking period (hazard ratio [HR], 4.87; 95% CI, 2.44–9.69; P <0.001) and a change in the standard deviation of normal‑to‑normal intervals (SDNN) observed 3 months after ablation (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.98–1; P = 0.01) were associated with LRAF. The cumulative LRAF freedom after CPVI was greater in patients with an SDNN reduction of more than 25 ms reported 3 months after ablation than in those with a reduction of 25 ms or lower (log‑rank P = 0.004)., Conclusions: Sustained parasympathetic denervation during 12 months after CPVI was a marker of successful CPVI, whereas a 3‑month post‑CPVI SDNN reduction of 25 ms or lower predicted LRAF.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with increased risk of death, stroke, and heart failure. Prevalence and incidence of AF are rising due to better overall medical treatment, longer survival, and increasing incidence of cardiometabolic and lifestyle risk factors. Treatment of AF and AF‑related complications significantly increases healthcare costs. In addition, the use of conventional rhythm control strategies (including, antiarrhythmic drugs and catheter ablation) is associated with limited efficacy for sinus rhythm maintenance and serious adverse effects. Aggressive cardiometabolic risk factor management may prevent incident as well as recurrent AF, improve overall health, and reduce mortality. Therefore, modifiable risk factor management became one of the 3 treatment pillars in AF management along with anticoagulation as well as conventional rate and rhythm control strategies. The second part of this review systematically discusses the association between AF and potentially modifiable risk factors for AF, such as obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, alcohol consumption, and dyslipidemia. We also provide practical guidelines for the risk factor management with respect to primary and secondary prevention of AF.

Modifiable risk factors, such as cardiometabolic and lifestyle risk factors, considerably contribute to (bi)atrial remodeling, finally resulting in clinical occurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF). Early identification and prompt intervention on these risk factors may delay further progression of atrial arrhythmia substrate and prevent the occurrence of new‑onset AF. Moreover, in patients with previous history of recurrent AF, aggressive risk factor management may improve efficacy of other rhythm control strategies, including antiarrhythmic drugs and catheter ablation in sinus rhythm maintenance. Finally, modification of risk factors improves overall health and reduces cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. The first part of this review evaluates the association between AF and the following risk factors: hypertension, diabetes mellitus, physical activity, and cigarette smoking. We systematically discuss the impact of risk factor modification on primary and secondary prevention of AF.

Early recurrence of atrial fibrillation (ERAF) after catheter-ablation (CA) can be a transient phenomenon due to inflammation, or a harbinger of late AF recurrence due to CA lesion (re)conduction. We studied the relationship between ERAF and the 3-month CA lesions integrity. Forty one consecutive AF patients who underwent a pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), roof line (RL) and mitral isthmus line (MIL) CA were enrolled. At 3 months all patients underwent invasive assessment of the lesion set integrity irrespective of ERAF. The PVI, RL and MIL ablation was successful in 100.0%, 95.1% and 82.9% patients, respectively. At the 3-month remapping, a gap in PVI-lesion(s), RL or MIL was identified in 61.0%, 31.7% and 36.6% patients, respectively. Patients with (n = 17, 41.5%) compared to those without ERAF (n = 24) had a significantly higher rate of any PV-reconnection (88.2% vs. 41.7%), the right PV(s)-reconnection (82.5% vs. 29.2%) and the RL gap (52.9% vs. 16.7%), as well as a higher number of reconnected right PVI-segments, all p < 0.05. On multivariate analysis, only the number of reconnected right PVI-segments was associated with ERAF (OR 4.26, p = 0.004). The ERAF following PVI + RL + MIL ablation was significantly related to 3-month PV-reconnections and the presence of RL gaps.

Background: Data on the roof line (RL) and mitral isthmus line (MIL) reconnections after atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation (CA) are scarce., Objective: We studied the RL and MIL completeness and localization of reconnection sites in consecutive patients after their first-ever AF-CA., Methods: We prospectively included 41 consecutive AF patients who underwent predefined lesion sets of two circumferential lines (CLs) for ipsilateral pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) combined with a RL and lateral MIL. Three months after CA, all patients underwent invasive follow-up procedure for line persistency evaluation, irrespective of clinical outcome., Results: At the time of index ablation, PVI-CLs, RL, and MIL was completed in 41 (100%), 39 (95%), and 34 (83%) of patients, respectively. At the 3-month follow-up procedure, reconnections of PVI-CLs, RL, and MIL were found in 61% (25/41), 28% (11/39), and 24% (8/34) of patients, respectively. The 3-month reconnections were located commonly in the anterior and posterior PVI-CL segments, and rarely in the right third of RL and in the posterior part of MIL. The 3-month reconnections were rarely seen at the sites of acute reconnections during index procedure (6%, 20%, and 25% of the PVI-CL segments, RL segments, and MIL segments, respectively)., Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study systematically investigating the reconnection of standardized left atrium linear lesions such as RL and MIL after RF-CA for AF in consecutive patients. The RL and MIL 3-month reconnection rates were relatively low (28% and 24%), with poor anatomical concordance between the sites with acute and 3-month reconnections., (© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Catheter ablation (CA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) is currently one of the most commonly performed electrophysiology procedures. Ablation of paroxysmal AF is based on the elimination of triggers by pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), while different strategies for additional AF substrate modification on top of PVI have been proposed for ablation of persistent AF. Nowadays, various technologies for AF ablation are available. The radiofrequency point-by-point ablation navigated by electro-anatomical mapping system and cryo-balloon technology are comparable in terms of the efficacy and safety of the PVI procedure. Long-term success of AF ablation including multiple procedures varies from 50 to 80%. Arrhythmia recurrences commonly occur, mostly due to PV reconnection. The recurrences are particularly common in patients with non-paroxysmal AF, dilated left atrium and the "early recurrence" of AF within the first 2-3 post-procedural months. In addition, this complex procedure can be accompanied by serious complications, such as cardiac tamponade, stroke, atrio-esophageal fistula and PV stenosis. Therefore, CA represents a second-line treatment option after a trial of antiarrhythmic drug(s). Good candidates for the procedure are relatively younger patients with symptomatic and frequent episodes of AF, with no significant structural heart disease and no significant left atrial enlargement. Randomized trials demonstrated the superiority of ablation compared to antiarrhythmic drugs in terms of improving the quality of life and symptoms in AF patients. However, nonrandomized studies reported additional clinical benefits from ablation over drug therapy in selected AF patients, such as the reduction of the mortality and stroke rates and the recovery of tachyarrhythmia-induced cardiomyopathy. Future research should enable the creation of more durable ablative lesions and the selection of the optimal lesion set in each patient according to the degree of atrial remodeling. This could provide better long-term CA success and expand indications for the procedure, especially among the patients with non-paroxysmal AF.

Reliable prediction of very late recurrence of atrial fibrillation (VLRAF) occuring >12 months after catheter ablation (CA) in apparently "cured" patients could optimize long-term follow-up and modify decision-making regarding the discontinuation of oral anticoagulant therapy. In a single-centre cohort of consecutive patients post radiofrequency AFCA, we retrospectively derived a novel score for VLRAF prediction. Of 133 consecutive post AFCA patients (mean age 56.9 ± 11.8 years, 63.9% male, 69.2% with paroxysmal AF) who were arrhythmia-free at 12 months (excluding 3-month "blanking period"), 20 patients expirienced a VLRAF during a 29.1 ± 10.1-month follow-up, with a 3-year cumulative VLRAF rate of 31.1%. The MB-LATER score (Male, Bundle brunch block, Left atrium ≥47 mm, Type of AF [paroxysmal, persistent or long-standing persistent], and ER-AF = early recurrent AF), had better predictive ability for VLRAF (AUC 0.782) than the APPLE, ALARMc, BASE-AF2, CHADS 2 , CHA 2 DS 2 VASc or HATCH score (AUC 0.716, 0.671, 0.648, 0.552, 0.519 and 0.583, respectively), resulted in an improved net reclassification index (NRI) of 48.6-95.1% and better identified patients with subsequent VLRAF using decision-curve analysis (DCA). The MB-LATER score provides a readily available VLRAF risk assessment, and performs better than other scores. Validation of the MB-LATER score in other cohorts is underway., Competing Interests: N. Mujović has received consulting fees from St. Jude. M. Marinković, N. Marković and A. Shantsila have no competing financial interests. G.Y.H. Lip and T.S. Potpara have no competing financial interests directly related to this work, but G.Y.H. Lip has been a consultant for Bayer/Janssen, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer, Biotronik, Medtronic, Boehringer Ingelheim, Microlife, and Daiichi Sankyo; and a speaker for Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer, Medtronic, Boehringer Ingelheim, Microlife, Roche, and Daiichi Sankyo, and T.S. Potpara has been a consultant for Bayer, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer; and a speaker for Bayer, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca.

Introduction: Cardiac tamponade (CT) is a life-threatening complication of radiofrequency ablation (RFA). The course and outcome of CT in low-to-medium volume electrophysiology centers are underreported., Methods: We analyzed the incidence, management and outcomes of CT in 1500 consecutive RFAs performed in our center during 2011-2016., Results: Of 1500 RFAs performed in 1352 patients (age 55 years, interquartile range: 41-63), 569 were left-sided procedures (n = 406 with transseptal access). Conventional RFA or irrigated RFA was performed in 40.9% and 59.1% of procedures, respectively. Ablation was performed mostly for atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (25.4%), atrial fibrillation (AF; 18.5%), atrial flutter (18.4%), accessory pathway (16.5%) or idiopathic ventricular arrhythmia (VA; 12.3%), and rarely for structural VA (2.1%). CT occurred in 12 procedures (0.8%): 10 AF ablations, 1 idiopathic VA and 1 typical atrial flutter ablation. Factors significantly associated with CT were older age, pre-procedural oral anticoagulation, left-sided procedures, transseptal access, AF ablation, irrigated RFA and longer fluoroscopy time (on univariate analysis), and AF ablation (on multivariable analysis). The perforation site was located in the left atrium (n = 7), right atrium (n = 3), or in the left ventricle or coronary sinus (n = 1 each). Upon pericardiocentesis, two patients underwent urgent cardiac surgery because of continued bleeding. There was no fatal outcome. During the follow-up of 19 ± 14 months, eight patients were arrhythmia free., Conclusion: Incidence of RFA-related CT in our medium-volume center was low and significantly associated with AF ablation. The outcome of CT was mostly favorable after pericardiocentesis, but readily accessible cardiothoracic surgery back-up should be mandatory in RFA centers.

Background/Aim. Atrioventricular nodal (AV) reentry tachycardia (AVNRT) is the most common form of supraventricular tachycardia. Treatment of choice is a catheter-ablation of the slow pathway of the AV node. The aim of the study was to present the outcomes of this procedure after ten years of follow-up. Methods. The catheter- ablation procedure was performed in 92 patients (30 men and 62 women, mean age 52.0 ± 13.3 years, range 19 to 76 years) with confirmed AVNRT during the electrophysiological examination, from 2007 to 2009. Out of these, 64 patients were followed-up for ten years by inviting them to clinical examinations regularly. The occurrence of AV block, arrhythmia and the use of antyarrhythmic drugs were the main outcomes of the ten-year follow-up. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to identify significant predictors of arrhythmia after a follow-up period. Results. The primary success of intervention was achieved in 91 (98.9%) patients. Third-degree AV block was registered in 1 (1.1%) patient after the intervention, which required the implantation of a pacemaker. After ten years of follow-up, AVNRT relapses were not registered. A total of 7 out of 64 (10.9%) patients died during the follow-up period, mostly due to non-cardiac causes. After ten years of follow-up, firstdegree AV block was registered in six (10.5%) patients, whereas other arrhythmias were observed in 17 (29.8%) patients such as atrial fibrillation or flutter, atrial premature beats and sinus tachycardia. The number of antiarrhythmic drugs were reduced from 2.1 ± 1.2 at baseline to 0.5 ± 0.6 during follow-up, mostly beta-blockers, propafenone and amiodarone, and 33 (57.9%) patients were no longer using anti-arrhythmic therapy. Logistic regression identified participant’s age above 55 years at baseline and re-intervention performed after the initial catheter-ablation as significant predictors of arrhythmia after a 10-year follow-up, independent from gender and arterial hypertension at baseline. Conclusion. The catheter-ablation of AVNRT represents a successful and safe procedure, from the perspective of tenyear follow-up.

Introduction. Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) by antral circumferential ablation is the standard procedure for patients with symptomatic and drug-refractory paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). In some patients addition of ganglionated plexi (GP) modification in anatomic locations to PVI confers significantly better outcomes than PVI alone. Case report. We reported a patient with paroxysmal, symptomatic AF and severe bradycardia a month prior to ablation. The patient was treated with antiarrhythmic drugs without success. Because of severe bradicardia the patient was implanted with a temporary pace maker two days before PVI. During PVI the decision was made to also do a modification of the left GP. Three months after the procedure the patients was in stable sinus rhythm without any symptoms. Conclusion. In selected patients with paroxysmal AF and pronounced vagal response PVI by circumferential antral ablation combined with GP modification during single ablation procedure can produce higher success rates than PVI or GP ablation alone.