scholarly journals Huge Hiatal Hernia Mimicking a Mass with Compressive Effects on the Left Atrium Causing Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Author(s):  
Murat Akçay ◽  
İlkay Çamlıdağ

An 82-year-old female patient presented with complaints of dyspnea and increasing palpitations caused by food reflux. There was no risk factor except hypertension. On physical examination, the heart rate was 120 beats/min and arrhythmic and blood pressure was 130/80 mmHg. Electrocardiography showed high-rate atrial fibrillation. Laboratory parameters were unremarkable. Echocardiography illustrated a hyperechogenic and well-circumscribed mass, 40×55 mm size, in the posterior left atrium (Figure 1, Video 1). The mass size increased with breathing and the Valsalva maneuver. There was no pathology on chest radiography. The atrial fibrillation returned to sinus rhythm spontaneously, but paroxysmal atrial fibrillation attacks were observed, which were related to food reflux at follow-up. Subsequently, cardiac computed tomography, performed to determine the etiology, failed to demonstrate any pathological findings involving the left atrium. However, there was a sliding hernia in the paraesophageal region compressing the left atrium from the inferior-posterior region (Figure 2). Hiatal hernia surgery was recommended on account of the intermittently repeating symptoms. The patient refused the operation, and she is under follow-up with medical treatment.

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Roman Laszlo ◽  
Hanna Graze ◽  
Christian Haas ◽  
Klaus Kettering ◽  
Hermann Aebert ◽  
...  

<p><b>Background:</b> Box isolation of the posterior left atrium is one surgical or catheter ablative approach for treating atrial fibrillation (AF). In such cases, incomplete transmurality or recovery of pulmonary vein conduction after the application of various ablative techniques is considered the main reason for the recurrence of postprocedural arrhythmia. The use of solely cut-and-sew box isolation does not have these disadvantages and therefore demonstrates maximum efficacy for this therapeutic approach.</p><p><b>Methods:</b> We treated 15 patients with both an indication for open heart surgery and AF (2 paroxysmal, 6 short persistent [<12 months], and 7 long persistent [>12 months] cases) with a solely cut-and-sew box lesion. These patients were then retrospectively followed up over the long term with respect to the end point of freedom of atrial tachyarrhythmias >30 seconds.</p><p><b>Results:</b> The median follow-up duration was 42 months (range, 32-84 months). Five (63%) of 8 patients with preoperative paroxysmal or short persistent AF had no arrhythmia recurrence, whereas arrhythmia recurrence was documented in all 7 patients with preoperative long persistent AF.</p><p><b>Conclusions:</b> Despite reliable transmural isolation with cut-and-sew lesions, we observed long-term arrhythmia recurrence in patients who had preoperative paroxysmal or short persistent AF, suggesting that therapy approaches that are more complex than box isolation might be needed for selected patients to achieve long-term stable sinus rhythm, despite the initially paroxysmal or short persistent character of the arrhythmia. A high rate of recurrence in patients with severe structural heart disease and preoperative long persistent AF might indicate that, in general, isolation of the left posterior atrium alone is not an adequate therapeutic approach for these patients.</p>


Author(s):  
Igor Belluschi ◽  
Elisabetta Lapenna ◽  
Davide Carino ◽  
Cinzia Trumello ◽  
Manuela Cireddu ◽  
...  

Abstract OBJECTIVES Previous series showed the outcomes of thoracoscopic ablation of stand-alone symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) for up to 7 years of follow-up. The goal of this study was to assess the long-term durability of surgical pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) beyond 7 years. METHODS Fifty consecutive patients {mean age 55 [standard deviation (SD): 11.2] years, previous catheter ablation in 56%, left ventricular ejection fraction 60% (SD: 4.6), left atrium volume 65 ml (SD: 17)} with stand-alone symptomatic paroxysmal AF underwent PVI through bilateral thoracoscopy ablation between 2005 and 2014. The CHA2DS2-VASc score was ≥2 in 12 patients (24%). RESULTS No hospital deaths occurred. At hospital discharge all patients but 1 (2%) were in sinus rhythm (SR). Follow-up was 100% complete [mean 8.4 years (SD: 2.3), max 15]. The 8-year cumulative incidence function of AF recurrence, with death as a competing risk, on or off class I/III antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs)/electrocardioversion/re-transcatheter ablation (TCA) was 20% (SD: 5; 95% confidence interval: 10, 32); and off class I/III AADs/electrocardioversion/re-TCA was 52% (SD: 7; 95% confidence interval: 0.83, 8.02). At 8 years, the predicted prevalence of patients in SR was 87% and 53% were off class I/III AADs/electrocardioversion/re-TCA. The recurrent arrhythmia was AF in all patients except 2, who had atypical atrial flutter (4%). No predictors of AF recurrence were identified. At the last follow-up, 76% of the patients showed European Heart Rhythm Association class I. No strokes or thromboembolic events were documented and 76% of the subjects were off anticoagulation therapy. CONCLUSIONS Despite a considerable AF recurrence rate, our single-centre, long-term outcome of surgical PVI showed encouraging data, with the majority of patients remaining in SR, although many of them were on antiarrhythmic therapy.


EP Europace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Lycke ◽  
Maria Kyriakopoulou ◽  
Milad El Haddad ◽  
Jean-Yves Wielandts ◽  
Gabriela Hilfiker ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims Catheter ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) reduces AF recurrence, AF burden, and improves quality of life. Data on clinical and procedural predictors of arrhythmia recurrence are scarce and are flawed by the high rate of pulmonary vein reconnection evidenced during repeat procedures after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). In this study, we identified clinical and procedural predictors for AF recurrence 1 year after CLOSE-guided PVI, as this strategy has been associated with an increased PVI durability. Methods and results Patients with paroxysmal AF, who received CLOSE-guided PVI and who participated in a prospective trial in our centre, were included in this study. Uni- and multivariate models were plotted to find clinical and procedural predictors for AF recurrence within 1 year. Three hundred twenty-five patients with a mean age of 63 years (CHA2DS2VASc 1 [1–3], left atrium diameter 41 ± 6 mm) were included. About 60.9% were male individuals. After 1 year, AF recurrence occurred in 10.5% of patients. In a binary logistic regression analysis, the diagnosis-to-ablation time (DAT) was found to be the strongest predictor of AF recurrence (P = 0.011). Diagnosis-to-ablation time ≥1 year was associated with a nearly two-fold increased risk for developing AF recurrence. Conclusion The DAT is the most important predictor of arrhythmia recurrence in low-risk patients treated with durable pulmonary vein isolation for paroxysmal AF. Whether reducing the DAT could improve long-term outcomes should be investigated in another trial.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Zhao ◽  
Jianqiang Hu ◽  
Yan Huang ◽  
Yawei Xu ◽  
Yanzhou Zhang ◽  
...  

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the mechanisms and effectiveness of pulmonary antrum radial-linear (PAR) ablation in comparison with pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) after a long-term follow-up. Background: The one-year follow up data suggested that PAR ablation appeared to have a better outcome over the conventional PVI for paroxysmal AF. Methods: The enrollment occurred between March, 2011, and August, 2011, with the last follow-up in May, 2014. A total of 133 patients with documented paroxysmal AF were enrolled from 5 centers and randomized to PAR group or PVI group. Event ECG recorder and Holter monitoring were conductedduring the follow-up for all patients. Results: The average procedure time was 151±23 min in PAR group and 178±43 min in PVI group ( P <0.001). The average fluoroscopy time was 21±7 min in PAR group and 27±11 min in PVI group ( P= 0.002). AF triggering foci were eliminated in 59 patients (89.4%) in PAR group, whereas, only 4 patients (6.0%) in PVI group (P<0.001).At median 36 (37-35) months of follow-up after single ablation procedure, 43 of 66 patients in PAR group (65%) and 28 of 67 patients in PVI group (42%) had no recurrence of AF off antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) (P=0.007); and 47 of 66 patients in PAR group (71%) and 32 of 67 patients in PVI group (48%) had no recurrence of AF with AAD (P=0.006). At the last follow-up, the burden of AF was significantly lower in PAR group than in PVI group (0.9% ± 2.3% vs 4.9% ± 9.9%;90th percentile, 5.5% vs 19.6%; P=0.008). No major adverse event (death, stroke, PV stenosis) was observed in all the patients except one case of pericardial tamponade. Conclusions: PAR ablation is a simple, safe, and effective strategy for the treatment of paroxysmal AF with better long-term outcome than PVI. PAR ablation might exhibit the beneficial effect on AF management through multiple mechanisms. Registration: ChiCTR-TRC-11001191


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 643-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jindong Chen ◽  
Hao Wang ◽  
Mengmeng Zhou ◽  
Liang Zhao

AbstractBackground:To assess the effectiveness of radiofrequency catheter ablation for lone atrial fibrillation in young adults.Methods:This single-centre, retrospective, observational study enrolled 75 consecutive patients (86.7% men) under 35 (median, 30) years old with lone atrial fibrillation (68% paroxysmal, 26.7% persistent, and 5.3% long-standing persistent) without other cardiopulmonary diseases who underwent catheter ablation between April 2009 and May 2017. Procedural endpoints were circumferential pulmonary vein ablation for atrial fibrillation with pulmonary vein trigger, and target ablation or bidirectional block of lines and disappearance of complex fractionated atrial electrograms for atrial fibrillation with clear and unclear non-pulmonary vein triggers, respectively.Results:Main study outcome was rate of survival free from atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence, which at median 61 (range, 5–102) months follow-up was 62.7% (64.7 and 58.3% for paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, respectively) after single ablation, and 69.3% (68.6 and 70.8% for paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, respectively) after mean 1.2 ablations (two and three ablations in 11 and 2 patients, respectively). In multivariate analysis, non-pulmonary vein trigger was a significant independent predictor of recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmia (OR, 10.60 [95%CI, 2.25–49.96]; p = 0.003). There were no major periprocedural adverse events.Conclusions:In patients under 35 years old with lone atrial fibrillation, radiofrequency catheter ablation appeared effective particularly for atrial fibrillation with pulmonary vein trigger and regardless of left atrial size or atrial fibrillation duration or type. Atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence after multiple ablations warrants further study.


Author(s):  
Masaharu Masuda ◽  
Mitsutoshi Asai ◽  
Osamu Iida ◽  
Shin Okamoto ◽  
Takayuki Ishihara ◽  
...  

Introduction: The randomized controlled VOLCANO trial demonstrated comparable 1-year rhythm outcomes between patients with and without ablation targeting low-voltage areas (LVAs) in addition to pulmonary vein isolation among paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with LVAs. To compare long-term AF/atrial tachycardia (AT) recurrence rates and types of recurrent-atrial-tachyarrhythmia between treatment cohorts during a > 2-year follow-up period. Methods: An extended-follow-up study of 402 patients enrolled in the VOLCANO trial with paroxysmal AF, divided into 4 groups based on the results of voltage mapping: Group A, no LVA (n=336); group B, LVA ablation (n=30); group C, LVA presence without ablation (n=32); and group D, incomplete voltage map (n=4). Results: At 25 (23, 31) months after the initial ablation, AF/AT recurrence rates were 19% in group A, 57% in group B, 59% in group C, and 100% in group D. Recurrence rates were higher in patients with LVAs than those without (group A vs. B+C, p<0.0001), and were comparable between those with and without LVA ablation (group B vs. C, p=0.83). Among patients who underwent repeat ablation, ATs were more frequently observed in patients with LVAs (Group B+C, 50% vs. A, 14%, p<0.0001). In addition, LVA ablation increased the incidence of AT development (group B, 71% vs. C, 32%, p<0.0001), especially biatrial tachycardia (20% vs. 0%, p=0.01). Conclusion: Patients with LVAs demonstrated poor long-term rhythm outcomes irrespective of LVA ablation. ATs were frequently observed in patients with LVAs, and LVA ablation might exacerbate iatrogenic ATs.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document