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We report a case of a 44‐year‐old male who underwent an electrophysiological study for symptomatic supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) with wide QRS complex. The SVT was diagnosed as an antidromic atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia (AVRT) via antegrade conduction of left‐sided accessory pathway (AP). However, the QRS morphology changed during the SVT, and then the SVT was terminated spontaneously. The mapping of AP was performed during sinus rhythm, and the radiofrequency application successfully eliminated the AP, which rendered tachycardias non‐inducible. This was a rare case of antidromic AVRT during which the QRS morphology changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Methods Results Conclusion The impact of combining ablation index (AI)‐guided and very high‐power short‐duration (vHPSD) ablation on procedural factors at the posterior wall near the esophagus is unclear.Atrial fibrillation patients who underwent initial ablation using three‐dimensional mapping were enrolled. Patients were classified into two groups: those who underwent only AI‐guided pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) (AI group) and those who underwent vHPSD ablation at the posterior wall adjacent to the esophagus in addition to AI‐guided PVI (AI + vHPSD group). Differences in myocardial injury, inflammation, procedural characteristics, and pulmonary vein (PV) reconnection patterns were assessed between the two groups.This study included 167 patients (AI group, 83 patients; AI+vHPSD group, 84 patients). No significant differences in high‐sensitive troponin I or changes in inflammatory markers between pre‐ and Postablation were observed in either group. Total application time and total application energy were significantly lower in the AI+vHPSD group than in the AI group (p < 0.001 for both) despite no significant difference in the total number of applications between the groups. The incidence of esophagus temperature ≥40 degrees was significantly lower in the AI+vHPSD group than in the AI group (p = 0.036). However, the incidence of PV reconnections near the esophagus was significantly higher in the AI+vHPSD group than in the AI group (11.9% vs 3.6%, p = 0.046), despite no significant difference in the incidence of PV reconnections overall.The combination of AI‐guided PVI and vHPSD adjacent to the esophagus demonstrated reduced application energy requirements and maintained safety and effectiveness during the perioperative period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Methods and Results Conclusions Heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Recently, sinus rhythm (SR) maintenance (SRM) after catheter ablation (CA) of AF (AFCA) in HFpEF has shown to reduce adverse events as compared to medical treatment. However, it remains unclear whether SRM after a repeat CA for recurrent AF has the same effect as SRM after the initial CA in patients with AF and HFpEF.We studied 244 AF patients with HFpEF who maintained SR after repeat AFCA (repeat CA‐SRM group, n = 54) and initial AFCA (initial CA‐SRM group, n = 190). HFpEF were defined as HFA‐PEFF score of 5 or 6 and left ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 50% before the initial CA. The primary endpoint was a composite of all‐cause mortality, HF hospitalizations, or strokes within 3 years after the initial or repeat CA. The incidence of the primary endpoint was similar between the repeat CA‐SRM and initial CA‐SRM groups (3 of 54 [5.6%] vs. 8 of 190 [4.2%], p = .423 by a log‐rank test). There was no significant difference in the 12‐month HFA‐PEFF score and the proportion of a 12‐month HFA‐PEFF score <5 between the repeat CA‐SRM and the initial CA‐SRM groups (5 [4,6] vs. 5 [4,6], p = .915, and 46% vs. 35%, p = .426, respectively).In patients with AF and HFpEF diagnosed by HFA‐PEFF score, the primary endpoint of all‐cause mortality, HF hospitalizations, and strokes was similar between the repeat CA‐SRM and initial CA‐SRM groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Catheter ablation (CA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) improves left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The impact of ST‐segment depression before CA on LVEF recovery and clinical outcomes remains unknown. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between ST‐segment depression during AF rhythm before CA and improvement in the LVEF and clinical outcomes in persistent atrial fibrillation (PerAF) patients with HFrEF. Methods and results: The present study included 122 PerAF patients (male; 98 patients, 80%, mean age: 69 [56, 76] years) from the Osaka Rosai Atrial Fibrillation ablation (ORAF) registry who had LVEF < 50% and underwent an initial ablation. The patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting within the past 1 month were not included in the enrolled patients. We assigned the patients based on the presence of ST‐segment depression before CA during AF rhythm and evaluated improvement in the LVEF (LVEF ≥ 15%) 1 year after CA and the relationship between ST‐segment depression and heart failure (HF) hospitalization/major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), which are defined as a composite of HF hospitalization, cardiovascular death, hospitalization due to coronary artery disease, ventricular arrhythmia requiring hospitalization and stroke. The percentage of patients with improvement in the LVEF 1 year after CA was significantly lower in the patients with ST‐segment depression than those without (58.6% vs. 79.7%, P = 0.012). Multiple regression analysis showed ST‐segment depression was independently and significantly associated with improvement in the LVEF 1 year after CA (HR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.129–0.928, P = 0.035). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that the patients with ST‐segment depression significantly had higher risk of HF hospitalization and MACE than those without (log rank P = 0.022 and log rank P = 0.002, respectively). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that ST‐segment depression was independently and significantly associated with a higher risk of MACE (HR: 2.82; 95% CI: 1.210–6.584, P = 0.016). Conclusions: ST‐segment depression before CA during AF rhythm was useful prognostic predictor of improvement in the LVEF and clinical outcomes including HF hospitalization and MACE in PerAF patients with HFrEF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tachycardia‐induced cardiomyopathy (TIC) is a reversible cardiomyopathy with ventricular dysfunction caused by tachyarrhythmias. Notably, atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common causal arrhythmia leading to TIC. However, the risk factors for the development of TIC due to AF remain unclear. This study aimed to identify the associated factors of TIC due to AF. Methods: Persistent AF patients with heart rate (HR) ≥100 beats per minute who underwent initial catheter ablation were enrolled in this study. TIC was diagnosed as left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50% during AF rhythm, which was recovered after the restoration of sinus rhythm. Non‐TIC was defined as LVEF ≥ 50% despite AF rhythm. The patient backgrounds were compared between the TIC group and the non‐TIC group to reveal the contributing factors of TIC. Results: The TIC group comprised 57 patients, while the non‐TIC group consisted of 101 patients. The TIC group was younger than the non‐TIC group (median 64 vs. 70, p = 0.006). Male sex was more frequent in the TIC group than the non‐TIC group (82.5% vs. 58.4%, p = 0.003). HR was higher in the TIC group than in the non‐TIC group (median 130 bpm vs. 111 bpm, p < 0.001). The number of smokers was significantly higher in the TIC group than in the non‐TIC group (p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that higher HR (odds ratio [OR]: 1.74; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.37–2.21; p < 0.001) and current smokers (OR: 5.27; 95% CI: 1.60–17.4; p = 0.006) were the independent factors leading to TIC. Conclusion: Higher HR and current smokers were independent risk factors for the development of TIC due to AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimal duration of atrial fibrillation (AF) persistence for predicting poor outcomes after catheter ablation of long-standing AF (LsAF) and the best ablation strategy for these patients remain unclear. We aimed to assess the impact of the duration of AF persistence on outcomes after catheter ablation of AF. We analyzed the Efficacy of Pulmonary Vein Isolation Alone in Patients with Persistent Atrial Fibrillation (EARNEST-PVI) trial data comparing pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) alone (PVI-alone) with additional linear ablation or defragmentation (PVI-plus) in persistent AF (PerAF). Patients who received catheter ablation by contact force–sensing catheter were enrolled in the study. In patients with LsAF, the optimal cutoff duration of AF persistence was evaluated. With use of the threshold, patients with LsAF were divided into 2 groups and compared with PerAF <1 year for arrhythmia-free survival after a 3-month blanking period. The optimal cutoff duration was 2.4 years. Of 458 patients, arrhythmia-free survival rates for LsAF 1–2.4 years were comparable to those of PerAF (hazard ratio [HR], 1.01; 95% CI, 0.67–1.52). However, LsAF >2.4 years had a higher recurrence risk than PerAF (HR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.42–3.47). In LsAF >2.4 years, the PVI-plus strategy showed advantages over the PVI-alone strategy (HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.14–0.89). However, the interaction effect between LsAF 1–2.4 years and LsAF >2.4 years did not reach statistical significance (P =.116). Whereas LsAF 1–2.4 years has similar outcomes to those of PerAF, LsAF >2.4 years was linked to higher arrhythmia recurrence risks. For LsAF >2.4 years, the PVI-plus strategy showed a potential to be superior to the PVI-alone strategy. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C), anaemia and low platelets have been associated with worse clinical outcomes in heart failure patients. We investigated the relationship between the combination of these three components and clinical outcome in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Methods and results: We examined the data of 1021 patients with HFpEF hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (HF) from the PURSUIT‐HFpEF registry, a prospective, multicenter observational study. The enrolled patients were classified into four groups by an LEP (LDL‐C, Erythrocyte, and Platelet) score of 0 to 3 points, with 1 point each for LDL‐C, erythrocyte and platelet values less than the cut‐off values as calculated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The endpoint, a composite of all‐cause death and HF readmission, was evaluated among the four groups. Median follow‐up duration was 579 [300, 978] days. Risk of the composite endpoint significantly differed among the four groups (P < 0.001). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that the groups with an LEP score of 2 had higher risk of the composite endpoint than those with an LEP score of 0 or 1 (P < 0.001, and P = 0.013, respectively), while those with an LEP score of 3 had higher risk than those with an LEP score of 0, 1 or 2 (P < 0.001, P < 0.001 and P = 0.020, respectively). Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that an LEP score of 3 was significantly associated with the composite endpoint (P = 0.030). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that risk of the composite of all‐cause death and HF readmission was significantly higher in low LDL values (less than the cut‐off values as calculated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis) patients with statin use than in those without statin use (log rank P = 0.002). Conclusions: LEP score, which comprehensively reflects extra‐cardiac co‐morbidities, is significantly associated with clinical outcomes in HFpEF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]