Multicenter study of novel mapping technique to detect non-pulmonary vein triggers excluding the origin from left atrial posterior wall and superior vena cava

Background

It has been reported that elimination of non-pulmonary vein (PV) triggers after PV isolation is a good predictor of atrial tachyarrhythmia free survival. However, precise mapping of triggers outside from superior vena cava (SVC) or left atrial posterior wall (LAPW) are difficult. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of self-reference mapping technique to eliminate non-PV triggers originated from outside of primordial pulmonary vein area.

Methods

Total of 431 patients (446 procedures) underwent atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in a hospital and in a medical center from January 2017 to March 2019. After isolation of PV, non-PV triggers were induced with isoproterenol and/or adenosine triphosphate. Reproducible non-PV triggers were targeted to ablate using following self-reference mapping technique: A trigger conducts centrifugally and the earliest site should be distinguished from other later activated sites. Using a PentaRay multipolar catheter, the operators annotated the earliest site of local activation and a reference tag was placed. The multipolar catheter was then moved to the reference tag and the process repeated. Ultimately, we identified clusters of early circumferential activation and ablated.

Results

A total of 32 non-PV triggers excluding the origin from LAPW and SVC were induced in 23 patients. Nineteen triggers (59%) were located in the right atrium and 13 triggers (41%) in the left atrium (Figure 1). All triggers were eliminated with ablation and AF was non-inducible in all patients at the end of the procedure. During the follow-up (529±270 days), 18 patients (77%) were free from atrial tachyarrhythmias after a 3-month blanking period. Three patients received additional ablation procedures for recurrent atrial arrhythmias. No non-PV triggers ablated during the previous procedure were observed.

Conclusion

A novel self-reference mapping technique is useful for eliminating non-PV triggers in terms of the short- and long-term success.

Figure 1. Distribution of non-PV triggers

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

Woven Coronary Artery Anomaly

Woven coronary artery anomaly is a rare congenital anomaly, and intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography are useful for the diagnosis. We performed both imaging techniques for woven coronary artery anomaly and evaluated which was superior. We concluded that optical coherence tomography was the preferred imaging modality in this case. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.)

Serial angioscopic evaluation of self-expanding stent graft implantation in superficial femoral artery

We evaluated Viabahn stent-graft (W.L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, AZ, USA) implanted in the superficial femoral artery at 6 months and one year after implantation because the patient felt claudication due to repeated restenosis of bare nitinol stent which was implanted just proximal to the site of Viabahn stent-graft. At 6 months, angioscopy showed severe thrombosis in the stent-graft while the stent-graft was entirely patent. However, at one year, angioscopic evaluation revealed no thrombosis in the stent-graft. She received the same dual antiplatelet therapy. <Learning objective: We report a case with Viabahn stent-graft in whom an angioscopy revealed severe thrombosis at 6 months but no thrombosis at one year during the same dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). It might be necessary to continue DAPT after Viabahn stent-graft implantation at least over one year to prevent thrombosis.>.

A case of a late fatal complication after atrial fibrillation ablation related to a prolonged QT interval unmasked by atrial fibrillation ablation

A 79-year-old woman with a history of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation was referred to our hospital for ventricular fibrillation, which was terminated by an automated external defibrillator. The heart rate corrected QT interval was 489 ms. The electrocardiogram monitoring recorded a polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) reproducibly induced by a single morphology premature ventricular contraction (PVC). Therefore, we performed a trigger PVC ablation and implanted an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. No VT events were observed for at least one year after the ablation. A prolonged QT interval after the AF ablation should be carefully noted because it could introduce fatal complications. <Learning objective: A rare late fatal complication of ventricular tachycardia (VT) after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation can occur even more than one month after the AF ablation. The AF ablation might have an adverse effect on the masked prolonged QT interval. A trigger ablation of the polymorphic VT was helpful to control lethal VTs.>.

Orbital Atherectomy Through Left Main Stent Struts Complicated by Catheter Entrapment and Stent Avulsion

We performed orbital atherectomy in the left circumflex artery through a stent that jailed the circumflex artery ostium. The orbital atherectomy catheter was entrapped within the stent and the stent was avulsed during catheter withdrawal. We should consider this potential complication when performing orbital atherectomy in a jailed side branch. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).

Predictors of recurrence after pulmonary vein isolation in patients with normal left atrial diameter

BACKGROUND

Enlarged left atrium (LA) is an established predictor of recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), but occasionally recurrences of AF/atrial tachycardia (AT) are experienced in patients with normal left atrial diameter. Therefore, the predictors of AF recurrence and AF triggers were evaluated in patients with normal LA.

METHODS

We enrolled 168 patients with normal LA (<40 mm) who underwent PVI. Various predictors were compared, including age, gender, coronary risk factors, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), medications, echocardiographic parameters, and procedure parameters, between recurrence and nonrecurrence groups.

RESULTS

The recurrence group consisted of 50 patients (29.8%). A univariate analysis demonstrated that the ratio of females, high BNP levels, severe tricuspid valve regurgitation (TR), and relapses of AF/AT during catheter ablation (CA) were significantly higher in the recurrence group. Multivariate analyses showed that a high BNP, severe TR, and AF/AT relapses during CA were independent factors associated with AF recurrence. During the second CA sessions, nonpulmonary vein (PV) triggers were therapeutic targets in 18 patients (46.2%), which was higher than that previously reported.

CONCLUSION

A high BNP, severe TR and AF/AT relapses during CA may be correlated with AF recurrence after PVI in the patients with normal LA.

Characteristics of abnormal post-stent optical coherence tomography findings in hemodialysis patients

AIM

Clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in hemodialysis (HD) patients are significantly worse than those in non-HD patients. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high resolution imaging modality and provides a detailed assessment of post-interventional abnormal findings that influence worse clinical outcomes. However, little is known about the abnormal post-stent OCT findings in HD patients. Therefore, in this study, we compared the abnormal post-stent OCT findings between HD and non-HD patients.

METHODS

One hundred thirty-nine consecutive OCT guided PCI (21 lesions in HD patients and 118 lesions in non-HD patients) were enrolled. We compared the post-stent OCT findings, including the edge dissections, under expansion index (minimum stent area/mean reference area), and stent eccentricity index (minimum stent diameter/maximum stent diameter) between HD and non-HD patients. We also compared the device-oriented clinical events (DoCEs) at 8 months of follow up.

RESULTS

There was a significantly higher prevalence of distal edge dissections (16.7% vs. 2.8%, P = 0.011) in HD patients. HD patients had a significantly lower under expansion index (0.76 ± 0.21 vs. 0.85 ± 0.14, P = 0.029) and stent eccentricity index (0.82 ± 0.09 vs. 0.88 ± 0.18, P = 0.018). The cumulative rate of DoCEs was significantly higher in the HD patients (23.8% vs. 5.2%, P = 0.013).

CONCLUSIONS

A higher prevalence of distal edge dissections, under expansion and stent eccentricity were detected by the detailed OCT findings in HD patients.

A case of a "pseudo jump-up phenomenon" caused by retrograde ventricular-His prolongation

A 35-year-old woman was referred for treatment of a supraventricular tachycardia. The tachycardia was diagnosed as a slow-fast form of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia. Radiofrequency ablation targeting the antegrade slow pathway was performed at the posterior septum of the right atrium. After the radiofrequency ablation, ventricular extrastimulus pacing was performed to assess the retrograde slow pathway, which was suggested before the ablation. The prolongation of the VA interval with a 10 ms decrease in the S2 pacing interval was 60 ms and retrograde dual pathways were suspected. However, the HA interval did not change and a prolongation of the VA interval was caused by the prolongation of the VH interval and no additional ablation was required.

P2689Irregular protrusion area is associated with incidence of cardiac events after implantation of new generation drug-eluting stents - optical coherence tomography study

Background

Several studies using optical coherence tomography (OCT) have shown that the prevalence of irregular protrusion was associated with the incidence of adverse cardiac events. However, the correlation between cardiac events and protrusion area is not well investigated.

Method

One hundred twenty-nine consecutive patients with 138 clesions with 2nd and 3rd generation drug-eluting stents (DES) which had pre-stenting and post-stenting OCT imaging between April 2016 and April 2018 were evaluated. We compared baseline characteristics, procedure findings and OCT findings including minimum stent area, protrusion type and maximum protrusion area between target lesion revascularization (TLR) group and non-TLR group.

Results

TLR occurred in 12 (9.3%) in 129 patients. The baseline characteristics and procedure findings were similar between TLR group and non-TLR group. Univariate analysis revealed that maximum irregular protrusion area was significantly larger (0.51 [0.00–0.63] vs 0.00 [0.00–0.27], p=0.036) in TLR group than non-TLR group. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the suitable cutoff value of maximum irregular protrusion area were 0.43mm2 for TLR. In multivariate analysis using the parameters with p value<0.10 determined by univariate analysis, maximum irregular protrusion (≥0.43mm2) and minimum stent area (MSA) were independently correlated with TLR (table).

Odd's ratio (95% CI) P value Major irregular protrusion (≥0.43mm2) 17.3 (3.63–82.6) <0.001 MSA 2.13 (1.15–3.93) 0.002

Conclusion

Major irregular protrusion (>0.43mm2) in post-stenting OCT findings may be a powerful predictor of TLR in the patients with new generation DES.

P1914Relationship between myocardial injury, inflammation and early, late recurrence after pulmonary vein isolation may be different between radiofrequency catheter ablation and cryoballoon ablation

Background

High sensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-TnI), subunit of cardiac troponin complex, is a sensitive and specific marker of myocardium injury as troponin T. Several studies showed hs-TnI was associated with worse cardiovascular outcomes but relationship between serum hs-TnI level in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) and AF recurrence remains unclear.

Methods

We enrolled 444 consecutive AF patients who underwent PVI from May 2017 to September 2018. We investigated the difference of relationship between serum hs-TnI, inflammation markers at 48 hours after PVI and early or late recurrence of AF (ERAF, <3 months and LRAF, during 1 year after PVI in patients with AF) between radiofrequency ablation (RFA) group and cryoballoon ablation (CBA) group.

Results

RFA and CBA were performed in 328 and 116 patients, respectively. There were no significant differences in patient characteristics between RFA group and CBA group. Serum hs-TnI in RFA group was significantly lower than in CBA group (1.93 ng/ml±3.28 vs 5.08 ng/ml±4.29, p<0.001), while hs-CRP was significantly higher in RFA group than CB group (1.97±2.38 mg/dl vs 1.10±0.84 mg/dl, p<0.001). The incidence of ERAF was similar between the two groups (RFA group: 26.8% and CBA group: 21.6%, p=0.262). There was no significant difference of hs-TnI and hs-CRP between patients with ERAF and without ERAF (table). In 213 patients who were followed during 1 year (PVIs were performed from May 2017 to January 2018, RFA 149 and CBA 64 patients), there was no significant association between hs-TnI, hs-CRP and incidence of LRAF (table).

TnI and CRP between RFA and CBA RFA (n=328) CBA (n=116) P value hs-TnI 1.93±3.28 5.08±4.29 <0.001 hs-CRP 1.97±2.38 1.10±0.84 <0.001 3 months follow-up RFA (n=328) CBA (n=116) ERAF (+) ERAF (−) P value ERAF (+) ERAF (−) P value hs-TnI 1.68±1.90 2.02±3.66 0.410 5.03±3.17 5.10±4.56 0.943 hs-CRP 2.23±2.65 1.88±2.27 0.238 1.01±0.84 1.13±0.85 0.524 1 year follow-up RFA (n=149) CBA (n=64) LRAF (+) LRAF (−) P value LRAF (+) LRAF(−) P value hs-TnI 1.61±1.77 1.87±2.69 0.570 4.71±2.14 5.60±5.69 0.664 hs-CRP 2.18±2.24 1.92±2.24 0.550 1.12±0.64 1.12±0.98 0.991

Conclusion

CBA may cause more myocardial injury than RFA, on the contrary RFA may cause more inflammation than CBA. These markers did not affect ERAF and LRAF after PVI.

Which factors are associated with length of stay in older patients with acute decompensated heart failure with preserved ejection fraction?: AURORA study

AIM

In heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), it is unclear which factors on admission are correlated with long stays. In contrast, acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in older patients is associated with a high risk of a long stay. To manage older ADHF patients with HFpEF, it is important to reveal the risk factors for a long stay on admission.

METHODS

We enrolled consecutive older patients (aged >75 years) with HFpEF (ejection fraction ≥50%) who were admitted to control ADHF from May 2014 to April 2016 using the acute heart failure registry in Osaka Rosai Hospital. We compared various factors, including age; sex; body mass index; heart rate; systolic blood pressure (SBP); atrial fibrillation; atherosclerotic risk factors, including dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, smoking and chronic kidney disease; laboratory data, including brain natriuretic peptide and albumin; and medications, including loop diuretics, on pre-admission between short-stay (<14 days) and long-stay groups.

RESULTS

The long-stay group consisted of 122 patients (59.5%). Multivariate analysis showed that male sex, SBP and albumin were independent predictors for long stays. According to the classification and regression tree and receiving operating characteristic curve analysis, all three factors on admission, including male sex, relatively low SBP (<155 mmHg) and hypoalbuminemia (<3.4 g/dL) could well predict the patients that would require long stays (area under curve 0.738).

CONCLUSIONS

Among older ADHF patients with HFpEF, male patients with relatively low SBP and hypoalbuminemia on admission should initially undergo more intensive management to reduce the length of stay. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 1084-1087.

Successful ablation for premature ventricular contraction originating from moderator band of morphologic right ventricle in congenitally corrected transposition of great arteries

A 54-year-old man with congenitally corrected transposition of great arteries (CCTGA) was referred to our hospital for palpitation. 24-hour Holter ECG showed frequent premature ventricular contraction (PVC) and we performed catheter ablation for this PVC. Pace-mapping was performed in morphologic right ventricle (RV) by transaortic approach. Perfect pace-map was achieved in morphologic RV midpart lateral and ablation at this site could eliminate the clinical PVC. After the ablation, by integrating ablation site and 3D mapping, we diagnosed that the clinical PVC was originated from the moderator band (MB) of morphologic RV.

Predictors of cardiac function in acute heart failure patients with mid-range ejection fraction: AURORA study

AIM

The factors correlated with prognosis in heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) is unclear, especially for acute heart failure (AHF) with HFmrEF. Thus, we investigated the factors correlated with the improvement in the ejection fraction (EF) over 1 year in AHF patients with HFmrEF.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In Acute Heart Failure Registry in the Osaka Rosai Hospital, we examined 159 consecutive HFmrEF patients out of 1051 HF patients who were admitted to our hospital for AHF from January 2015 to December 2017. We divided them into improved EF (IM) group whose EF improved (≧10%) and non-IM group who had no improvement. We compared the baseline characteristics, echocardiographic data, medications, examinations for ischaemia, invasive treatments, and clinical outcomes between IM group and non-IM group. IM group consisted of 21 patients (20%). IM group had a significantly more de novo heart failure, higher serum albumin (Alb), lower EF, smaller left ventricular dimension during diastole, more frequent coronary angiogram during hospitalization, and coronary intervention. Multivariate analysis revealed that Alb, left ventricular dimension during diastole, and coronary angiogram performed during hospitalization were independently associated with the improvement in the EF. In addition, IM group had less rehospitalizations over 1 year and a greater reduction in the B-type natriuretic peptide level during the follow-up than non-IM group.

CONCLUSIONS

In AHF patients with HFmrEF, we should evaluate for any ischaemic heart disease during hospitalization, especially in patients with non-enlarged left ventricular and non-reduced serum Alb. AHF patients with HFmrEF who showed improvement in the EF tended to have better prognosis than those without improvement.