Risk factors and effective ablation strategy in patients presenting with left atrial flutter with no previous ablation for atrial fibrillation

Abstract

Abstract Background A typical left atrial flutter (LAFL) may occur as a proarrhythmic complication of ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF). Objective We evaluated the risk factors and the best ablation strategy for LAFL in patients with no prior AF ablation. Methods Consecutive patients undergoing first catheter ablation for AFL with no prior procedure for AF were included in this prospective analysis. Based on the ablation strategy, patients were divided into, Group 1: PVI+ Flutter ablation (ablation of re-entry circuits) and Group 2: PVI+ Non-PV trigger ablation (targeting areas of focal activity as triggers). 3-D mapping of the LA was performed during tachycardia to identify the reentrant circuit. PV isolation was performed in all patients. In group 1, ablation line was chosen to transect the area critical for the circuit (roof and mitral line). In group 2, ectopic beats arising from extra-PV foci detected by isoproterenol challenge were ablated. Off-drug success rate was assessed in all. Results A total of 92 and 90 patients were included in group 1 and 2 respectively. Baseline characteristics are provided in table 1. Pre-existent LA scar was detected in 91.3% and 90% of patients in group 1 and 2 respectively. At 2 years of follow-up, 11/92 (12%) from group 1 and 60/90 (66.7%) from group 2 remained arrhythmia-free off-drugs (p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, PVI +flutter ablation was detected to be associated with significantly high risk of recurrence [HR: 3.92 (95% CI: 2.52–6.1, p<0.001)] Conclusion In this series of patients presenting with LAFL with no earlier AF ablations, pre-existent left atrial scar was detected in majority of cases and PVI+ non-PV trigger ablation provided significantly better success rate than PVI+ flutter ablation. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None