Characteristics of rapid rhythms recorded within pulmonary veins during atrial fibrillation

Hiroshi Tada, Mehmet Özaydin, Hakan Oral, Bradley P. Knight, Aman Chugh, Christoph Scharf, Frank Pelosi, S. Adam Strickberger, Fred Morady*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rapid rhythms often arise in the pulmonary veins during atrial fibrillation (AF). The activation patterns within pulmonary veins during these rapid rhythms are not well described. In 39 patients with paroxysmal AF, ostial recordings were obtain ed during AF in 110 pulmonary veins with a decapolar distal ring catheter. Pulmonary vein tachycardia (PVT) was defined as a pulmonary vein (PV) rhythm that had a cycle length shorter than at the adjacent left atrium. During AF, PVT was recorded in 93% of PV's, usually in the form of intermittent bursts that had a mean duration of 1,325 ± 647 ms and mean cycle length of 125 ± 20 ms. The mean cycle length of continuous PVT's (141 ± 25) was longer than the mean cycle length of intermittent bursts of PVT (P < 0.05). The intermittent PVT's were associated with a shorter left atrial cycle length than were the continuous PVT's. In 90% of PVTs, complex activation patterns attributable to simultaneous recordings from two or more overlapping fascicles were present at a segment of the pulmonary vein ostium, and the mean cycle length of these recordings was 80 ± 32 ms. PVT during AF is much more often intermittent than continuous. The relationship between PVT cycle length and left atrial cycle length suggests that PVT's influence the left atrium during AF PVT must be distinguished from recordings within PV's that have a short cycle length as a result of simultaneous recordings from two or more overlapping fascicles.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1342-1347
Number of pages6
JournalPACE - Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology
Volume26
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2003

Keywords

  • Atrial fibrillation
  • Pulmonary vein
  • Tachycardia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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