Incremental value of maximum voltage and activation-guided ablation for cavotricuspid isthmus-dependent atrial flutter

Abstract

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation is an effective method for treatment of typical cavo-tricuspid isthmus (CTI) dependent atrial flutter. However, despite the widespread use of contact force irrigated catheter, 11% of patients don’t achieve a first-pass CTI block, requiring additional RF applications or additional line during the same or a second procedure. From an anatomical point of view, CTI is composed of discrete bundles of muscle with intervening connective tissue, suggesting that its conduction proprieties are dependent of the anatomic architecture of the bundles. The maximum voltage-guided (MGV) ablation technique targets high-voltage electrograms along CTI to ablate the functionally active anatomic muscle bundle, without drawing a complete anatomic line. [1;2] Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of maximum voltage and activation-guided ablation (MVG/LAT) for CTI atrial flutter in real-world setting. Methods This was a prospective observational study in which all patients undergoing CTI atrial flutter ablation at the Electrophysiology Laboratory of our Department from 01/2021 to 10/2022 were recruited. Patients who were undergoing the ablation procedure after having already made an unsuccessful attempt of the same were excluded from the study. Substrate and activation mapping of CTI, both during flutter and during pacing from the proximal coronary sinus (CSp), was performed in all patients, identifying the earliest activated high-voltage channels, without the use of fluoroscopy, using the Smart-Touch SF catheter (CARTO 3, V7, Biosense Webster). High-voltage channels were validate also during lateral RA pacing. CTI ablation was performed only in channels with high voltage and early activation (W 45, AI 500). Bidirectional CTI block were validate by differential atrial pacing maneuvers and activation mapping during pacing from CSp. Results Procedural data of 39 patients were evaluated (mean age 68±13 years; men 92.6%; mean right atrium volume 149 mL). The mean number of points taken per map per patient was 1151. Bipolar thresholds were customized (0.5-2.5 mV) with the aim of better visualizing high-voltage channels. In 20/39(51.2%) patients ablation was performed during atrial flutter, in 19/39(48.8%) during pacing from proximal CS. In 19/39(48.8%) patients high-voltage channels were not detected at the central isthmus line (6 o'clock, LAO). The median number of RF applications to achieve bidirectional block of the CTI were 6 (1-20) in all patients (p=NS) (Figure 1,2). During a mean follow-up of 260 days (90-531) no recurrences were documented in any patient. Conclusions MVG/LAT-guided ablation, targeting selectively conductive muscle fibers, decreases the number of RF applications and improves efficacy, mostly in patients with challenging anatomies.