Is there a change in P wave parameters following pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using radiofrequency ablation (RF) vs. cryoballoon ablation (CRYO) for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF)?

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is an effective and established therapy for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) . PVI can be performed using point by point ablation with radiofrequency (RF) or with single shot techniques such as cryoballoon (CRYO). As P waves represent atrial depolarization, we aimed to study whether P wave metrics may change after PVI and if there are differences between RF and CRYO approaches. Methods We studied 88 matched patients who had PVI for PAF between January 2017 and December 2018 (RF = 44, CRYO = 44). Each patient was in sinus rhythm (SR) prior to ablation. Patients on amiodarone and those who had additional linear ablation were excluded. Patients had continuous ECG monitoring using Labsystem Pro (Boston Scientific Inc). Sampled at 1kHz during the procedure. One-minute recordings before and after PVI were exported and analysed using custom-written software using MatLab (v2018, bandpass 1-50Hz) to annotate P wave onset, peak and end. P wave duration was heart rate corrected (PWDc) by using the Hodges formula and P wave amplitude (PWA). Results P wave metrics were comparable before PVI between both cohorts. Successful PVI was achieved in all patients. There was a trend towards an increase in PWDc in some ECG leads with either RF or CRYO but no significant difference in P wave metrics as a result of PVI ablation or between both ablation modalities. Conclusion In this study, there was no significant change seen in PVI with RF or CRYO and no difference between the 2 ablation modalities. P wave metrics comparison, RF vs CRYO PWDc (ms) PRE, RF (n = 44) POST, RF (n = 44) P PRE, CRYO (n = 44) POST CRYO (n = 44) P P (RF vs CRYO) I 134.7 ± 32 133.5 ± 35 0.813 131.9 ± 36 132.7 ± 39 0.9 0.81 II 140.9 ± 34 144.1 ± 37 0.56 139.4 ± 42 134.4 ± 40 0.51 0.41 III 131.5 ± 31 143.3 ± 37 0.04 132.8 ± 41 130.6 ± 36 0.68 0.074 AVF 137 ± 32 144.7 ± 36 0.15 137.5 ± 42 127.4 ± 37 0.11 0.141 V1 143.9 ± 33 151.8 ± 37 0.17 133.6 ± 37 143.8 ± 38 0.09 0.745 PWA (mV) PRE, RF (n = 44) POST, RF (n = 44) P PRE, CRYO (n = 44) POST CRYO (n = 44) P P (RF vs CRYO) I 0.125 ± 0.08 0.09 ± 0.06 0.002 0.13 ± 0.08 0.14 ± 0.09 0.59 0.076 II 0.238 ± 0.1 0.238 ± 0.1 0.98 0.232 ± 0.1 0.278 ± 0.2 0.1 0.212 III 0.149 ± 0.1 0.153 ± 0.1 0.83 0.189 ± 0.1 0.187 ± 0.1 0.97 0.86 AVF 0.195 ± 0.1 0.196 ± 0.1 0.92 0.197 ± 0.1 0.247 ± 0.1 0.066 0.132 V1 0.122 ± 0.1 0.151± 0.1 0.05 0.138 ± 0.1 0.193 ± 0.2 0.002 0.543 PWDc and PWA comparison following RF vs CRYO.

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P-wave Analysis in Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Patients before and after Pulmonary Vein Isolation

2017 Computing in Cardiology Conference (CinC) ◽

10.22489/cinc.2017.284-091 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nuria Ortigosa ◽

�scar Cano

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Pulmonary Vein ◽

Pulmonary Vein Isolation ◽

Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation ◽

P Wave ◽

Wave Analysis ◽

Before And After

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Characterization of Changes in P-Wave VCG Loops Following Pulmonary-Vein Isolation

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21051923 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

pp. 1923

Author(s):

Nuria Ortigosa ◽

Óscar Cano ◽

Frida Sandberg

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Catheter Ablation ◽

Pulmonary Vein ◽

Pulmonary Vein Isolation ◽

P Wave ◽

Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence ◽

Time Segment ◽

P Waves ◽

Before And After ◽

Propagation Pattern

Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice. Currently, catheter ablation for pulmonary-vein isolation is a well-established treatment for maintaining sinus rhythm when antiarrhythmic drugs do not succeed. Unfortunately, arrhythmia recurrence after catheter ablation remains common, with estimated rates of up to 45%. A better understanding of factors leading to atrial-fibrillation recurrence is needed. Hence, the aim of this study is to characterize changes in the atrial propagation pattern following pulmonary-vein isolation, and investigate the relation between such characteristics and atrial-fibrillation recurrence. Fifty patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation who had undergone catheter ablation were included in this study. Time-segment and vectorcardiogram-loop-morphology analyses were applied to characterize P waves extracted from 1 min long 12-lead electrocardiogram segments before and after the procedure, respectively. Results showed that P-wave vectorcardiogram loops were significantly less round and more planar, P waves and PR intervals were significantly shorter, and heart rate was significantly higher after the procedure. Differences were larger for patients who did not have arrhythmia recurrences at 2 years of follow-up; for these patients, the pre- and postprocedure P waves could be identified with 84% accuracy.

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Splitting the P-Wave: Improved Evaluation of Left Atrial Substrate Modification after Pulmonary Vein Isolation of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s22010290 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 290

Author(s):

Aikaterini Vraka ◽

Vicente Bertomeu-González ◽

Fernando Hornero ◽

Aurelio Quesada ◽

Raúl Alcaraz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Pulmonary Vein ◽

Pulmonary Vein Isolation ◽

Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation ◽

P Wave ◽

Conduction Time ◽

Wave Duration ◽

Substrate Modification ◽

P Wave Duration ◽

Before And After

Atrial substrate modification after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) can be assessed non-invasively by analyzing P-wave duration in the electrocardiogram (ECG). However, whether right (RA) and left atrium (LA) contribute equally to this phenomenon remains unknown. The present study splits fundamental P-wave features to investigate the different RA and LA contributions to P-wave duration. Recordings of 29 pAF patients undergoing first-ever PVI were acquired before and after PVI. P-wave features were calculated: P-wave duration (PWD), duration of the first (PWDon-peak) and second (PWDpeak-off) P-wave halves, estimating RA and LA conduction, respectively. P-wave onset (PWon-R) or offset (PWoff-R) to R-peak interval, measuring combined atrial/atrioventricular and single atrioventricular conduction, respectively. Heart-rate fluctuation was corrected by scaling. Pre- and post-PVI results were compared with Mann–Whitney U-test. PWD was correlated with the remaining features. Only PWD (non-scaling: Δ=−9.84%, p=0.0085, scaling: Δ=−17.96%, p=0.0442) and PWDpeak-off (non-scaling: Δ=−22.03%, p=0.0250, scaling: Δ=−27.77%, p=0.0268) were decreased. Correlation of all features with PWD was significant before/after PVI (p<0.0001), showing the highest value between PWD and PWon-R (ρmax=0.855). PWD correlated more with PWDon-peak (ρ= 0.540–0.805) than PWDpeak-off (ρ= 0.419–0.710). PWD shortening after PVI of pAF stems mainly from the second half of the P-wave. Therefore, noninvasive estimation of LA conduction time is critical for the study of atrial substrate modification after PVI and should be addressed by splitting the P-wave in order to achieve improved estimations.

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Myocardial injury after pulmonary vein isolation: fire versus ice

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/eurheartj/ehab724.0368 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 42 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

A R Morgado Gomes ◽

N S C Antonio ◽

S Silva ◽

M Madeira ◽

P Sousa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pulmonary Vein ◽

Pulmonary Vein Isolation ◽

Troponin I ◽

Surrogate Marker ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Cryoballoon Ablation ◽

Single Shot ◽

High Sensitivity Troponin ◽

Ablation Index ◽

Significant Difference

Abstract Introduction The cornerstone of atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation is pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), either using point-by-point radiofrequency ablation (RF) or single-shot ablation devices, such as cryoballoon ablation (CB). However, achieving permanent transmural lesions is difficult and pulmonary vein (PV) reconnection is common. Elevation of high-sensitivity Troponin I (hsTnI) may be used as a surrogate marker for transmural lesions. Still, data regarding the comparison of hsTnI increase after PVI with RF or cryo-energy is controversial. Purpose The aim of this study is to compare the magnitude of hsTnI elevation after PVI with CB versus RF using ablation index guidance. Methods Prospective study of 60 patients admitted for first ablation procedure of paroxysmal or persistent AF in a single tertiary Cardiology Department. Thirty patients were submitted to PVI using CB and 30 patients were submitted to RF, using CARTO® mapping system and ablation index guidance. Patients with atrial flutter were excluded. Baseline characteristics were compared between groups, as well as hsTnI before and after the procedure. Results Mean age was 57.9±12.3 years old, 62% of patients were male and 77% had paroxysmal AF. There were no significant differences between groups regarding gender, age, prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, obesity or AF type. There was also no significant difference in electrical cardioversion need during the procedure. HsTnI median value before ablation was 1.90±1.98 ng/dL. Postprocedural hsTnI was significantly higher in CB-group (6562.7±4756.2 ng/dL versus 1564.3±830.7 ng/dL in RF-group; P=0.001). Regarding periprocedural complications, there was only one case of mild pericardial effusion in RF-group associated with postablation hsTnI of 1180.0 ng/dL. Conclusions High-sensitivity Troponin I was significantly elevated after PVI, irrespective of the ablation technique. In CB-group, hsTnI elevation was significantly higher than in RF-group. This disparity may reflect more extensive lesions with cryoablation, without compromising safety. Longterm studies are needed to understand whether this hsTnI elevation is predictive of a lower AF recurrence rate. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

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