Eugene Downar

Endocardial mapping of ventricular tachycardia in the intact human ventricle. III. Evidence of multiuse reentry with spontaneous and induced block in portions of reentrant path complex

OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to characterize the functional nature of the reentrant tract responsible for ventricular tachycardia due to ischemic heart disease. BACKGROUND A zone of slow conduction forming the return path is though to form a critical component of the reentrant mechanism in ventricular tachycardia. Despite its importance, detailed knowledge of the return path is rare in clinical studies. METHODS Multielectrode arrays were used intraoperatively to obtain unipolar and high gain bipolar recordings of left ventricular endocardium in patients undergoing map-directed surgical ablation of ventricular tachycardia. A total of 224 local electrograms were analyzed for each tachycardia. RESULTS Of 10 consecutive patients undergoing intraoperative cardiac mapping, detailed recording of the return tracts of eight ventricular tachycardias were obtained in three patients. The recordings demonstrated that return tracts can be complex and extensive, with multiple paths of entry and exit. Potential and actual alternate paths were observed. Spontaneous and induced block occurred within portions of the complex. Intermittent block in one of two paths of entry resulted in intermittent cycle length changes of the tachycardia without a change in configuration. Block in one exit path resulted in a shift to alternative exit paths, with dramatic changes in ventricular activation and tachycardia configuration. Termination of the tachycardia could result from block close to the entrant or exit portion of the return tract. Different tachycardias were seen to share common portions of a return tract. CONCLUSIONS These observations enlarge and extend our knowledge of the functional repertoire of complex reentrant tracts that occur in infarct-related ventricular tachycardia. The use of common portions of a reentrant tract by several tachycardias is confirmed. Utilization of alternate pathways can account for changes in configuration and cycle length. Spontaneous and induced block can occur at points of entry and exit in a reentrant tract and may identify optimal targets for ablation attempts. Further advances will require greater emphasis on diastolic activation mapping.

Coronary venous oximetry using MRI

Based on the Fick law, coronary venous blood oxygen measurements have value for assessing functional parameters such as the coronary flow reserve. At present, the application of this measure is restricted by its invasive nature. This report describes the design and testing of a noninvasive coronary venous blood oxygen measurement using MRI, with a preliminary focus on the coronary sinus. After design optimization including a four‐coil phased array and an optimal set of data acquisition parameters, quality tests indicate measurement precision on the order of the gold standard optical measurement (3%O2). Comparative studies using catheter sampling suggest reasonable accuracy (3 subjects), with variability dominated by sampling location uncertainty (∼7%O2). Intravenous dipyridamole (5 subjects) induces significant changes in sinus blood oxygenation (22 ± 9% O2), corresponding to flow reserves of 1.8 ± 0.4, suggesting the potential for clinical utility. Underestimation of flow reserve is dominated by right atrial mixing and the systemic effects of dipyridamole. Magn Reson Med 42:837–848, 1999.

Electrogram fractionation in murine HL-1 atrial monolayer model

BACKGROUND Complex fractionated atrial electrograms have been suggested as important targets for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. The etiology and the mechanism of these signals have not been completely elucidated because of limitations of interpretation of these signals in relation to simultaneously acquired signals in the neighboring atrial tissue. OBJECTIVE This study sought to study the origin of electrogram fractionation under the conditions of rotor formation and wave fragmentation, using atrial monolayer preparations. METHODS We performed optical mapping of 45 atrial monolayer preparations using a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) Brainvision Ultima camera system (SciMedia-Brainvision, Tokyo, Japan). RESULTS We observed stable rotors in 32 of the 45 recordings. The derived bipolar electrograms did not show complex fractionation at the core of the rotor in any of the 32 recordings. We were also able to show that 2 bipolar electrodes placed adjacent to the core of a stable rotor in a zone where there is no wave break will record electrical activity for the majority of the rotors cycle length. In 13 of the 45 recordings, wave break or wave collision events were present. Of these, 8 of 13 recordings showed complex fractionation. In 19 of the 27, simulation of meandering rotors also showed complex fractionation. CONCLUSION Complex fractionated electrograms can be recorded at sites of migrating rotors and wave break. No fractionation occurs at the core of a stable rotor. Electrograms that span the rotor cycle length and alternate between 2 bipoles that straddle the core can identify site of a stable rotor.

Phenylephrine (Neo-synephrine) Terminated Ventricular Tachycardia

Five cases of recurrent, wide QRS complex tachycardia which could be terminated with phenylephrine are presented. These cases fulfilled all accepted criteria for ventricular tachycardia. Carotid sinus massage with and without edrophonium hydrochloride had no effect on the ventricular activity but selectively slowed the atrial rate in cases of atrioventricular (A-V) dissociation, or blocked retrograde conduction in cases of A-V association. The mechanism of action of phenylephrine remains unclear.These cases have many possible implications. Two of the most important are: 1) phenylephrine may be useful in terminating certain cases of ventricular tachycardia; 2) termination of an unknown, regular, wide QRS complex tachycardia by phenylephrine, and possibly other pressors, can no longer be taken as proof of a supraventricular mechanism.

Mechanisms of spontaneous shift of surface electrocardiographic configuration during ventricular tachycardia.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to examine, with multichannel direct cardiac mapping techniques, the mechanisms of spontaneous shift of the QRS configuration in the surface electrocardiogram during episodes of ventricular tachycardia. BACKGROUND Ventricular tachycardias demonstrating a spontaneous shift in their surface electrocardiographic (ECG) features are occasionally encountered. It is not known whether such changes in configuration are primarily due to a significant change in the tachycardia site of origin or represent alterations in patterns of endocardial and epicardial activation. Knowledge of these features would be helpful, particularly when ablative therapy is considered for the arrhythmias. METHODS During map-directed cardiac surgery, episodes of ventricular tachycardia were mapped from 224 epicardial and endocardial sites. Episodes of pleomorphic tachycardia were identified and isochronal maps of endocardial and epicardial activation were constructed from representative beats before and after the change in configuration. RESULTS From 52 consecutive patients who underwent detailed intraoperative mapping, 9 patients with pleomorphic ventricular tachycardia were identified in whom 14 episodes of spontaneous shift occurred. An analysis of the epicardial activation patterns revealed that the sites of earliest epicardial breakthrough showed significant alteration at the time of QRS shift in all occurrences. In 10 of these shift episodes, however, the sites of tachycardia origin, located on the endocardial surface, remained closely adjacent (< 2 cm apart). Although these sites of origin remained relatively constant, significant alterations in the patterns of endocardial activation were seen in most episodes. These included changes in the direction of propagation of the wave front of activation and shifts between monoregional and figure eight patterns of activation. CONCLUSIONS In most episodes of pleomorphic ventricular tachycardia, the arrhythmia site of origin remains relatively constant. However, patterns of epicardial activation do undergo significant change and appear to be the major determinant of the QRS configuration on the surface ECG.

Bipolar ablation for deep intra-myocardial circuits: human ex vivo development and in vivo experience.

AIMS Current conventional ablation strategies for ventricular tachycardia (VT) aim to interrupt reentrant circuits by creating ablation lesions. However, the critical components of reentrant VT circuits may be located at deep intramural sites. We hypothesized that bipolar ablations would create deeper lesions than unipolar ablation in human hearts. METHODS AND RESULTS Ablation was performed on nine explanted human hearts at the time of transplantation. Following explant, the hearts were perfused by using a Langendorff perfusion setup. For bipolar ablation, the endocardial catheter was connected to the generator as the active electrode and the epicardial catheter as the return electrode. Unipolar ablation was performed at 50 W with irrigation of 25 mL/min, with temperature limit of 50°C. Bipolar ablation was performed with the same settings. Subsequently, in a patient with an incessant septal VT, catheters were positioned on the septum from both the ventricles and radiofrequency was delivered with 40 W. In the explanted hearts, there were a total of nine unipolar ablations and four bipolar ablations. The lesion depth was greater with bipolar ablation, 14.8 vs. 6.1 mm (P < 0.01), but the width was not different (9.8 vs. 7.8 mm). All bipolar lesions achieved transmurality in contrast to the unipolar ablations. In the patient with a septal focus, bipolar ablation resulted in termination of VT with no inducible VTs. CONCLUSION By using a bipolar ablation technique, we have demonstrated the creation of significantly deeper lesions without increasing the lesion width, compared with standard ablation. Further clinical trials are warranted to detail the risks of this technique.

Cardiac Mapping Instrumentation for the Instantaneous Display of Endocardial and Epicardial Activation

A real-time mapping system is described that allows instant display of both endocardial and epicardial activation as monitored by an array of transmural plunge-needle electrodes in the intact in situ heart. From the total cardiac muscle mass, 768 electrograms are recorded, with a programmable feature allowing the rapid and unrestricted selection of 110 endocardial electrograms for automated analysis. An activation analyzer (consisting of parallel analog circuitry) provides an activation image in real time, while video recorders provide both raw and processed data storage with the capability of immediate slow-motion replay. The nature of the data acquisition (110 plunge needles) limits this system to the experimental arrhythmia laboratory where its chief advantage is the enabling of the multichannel recording of endo data without the complications of open heart surgery. Equally important is the ability to automatically store the endocardial activation image locked in time to the simultaneously recorded epicardial image.

Decrement Evoked Potential Mapping Basis of a Mechanistic Strategy for Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation

Background—Substrate-based mapping for ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation is hampered by its inability to determine critical sites of the VT circuit. We hypothesized that those potentials, which delay with a decremental extrastimulus (decrement evoked potentials or DEEPs), are more likely to colocalize with the diastolic pathways of VT circuits. Methods and Results—DEEPs were identified in intraoperative left ventricular maps from 6 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (total 9 VTs) and were compared with late potential (LP) and activation maps of the diastolic pathway for each VT. Mathematical modeling was also used to further validate and elucidate the mechanisms of DEEP mapping. All patients demonstrated regions of DEEPs and LPs. The mean endocardial surface area of these potentials was 18±4% and 21±6%, respectively (P=0.13). The mean sensitivity for identifying the diastolic pathway in VT was 50±23% for DEEPs and 36±32% for LPs (P=0.31). The mean specificity was 43±23% versus 20±8% for DEEP and LP mapping, respectively (P=0.031). The electrograms that displayed the greatest decrement in each case had a sensitivity and specificity for the VT isthmus of 29±10% and 95±1%, respectively. Mathematical modeling studies recapitulated DEEPs at the VT isthmus and demonstrated their role in VT initiation with a critical degree of decrement. Conclusions—In this preliminary study, DEEP mapping was more specific than LP mapping for identifying the critical targets of VT ablation. The mechanism of DEEPs relates to conduction velocity restitution magnified by zigzag conduction within scar channels.

Demand Pacemaker Malfunction Due to Abnormal Sensing Report of Two Cases

Two cases with external demand pacemakers are presented because of abnormal prolongation in the pacing interval. In both cases, pacemaker inhibition was caused by signals which were not recorded by the conventional surface electrocardiograms. In one case, inhibition was related to a partial lead fracture which generated a voltage transient in the region of the T wave. In the other case, inhibition was caused by current emitted from a faulty pacemaker unit. In both cases precise localization of the problem was possible by simple bedside recordings and measurements.

Unusual intraatrial reentry following the Mustard procedure defined by multisite magnetic Electroanatomic mapping

SARDANA, R., et al.: Unusual Intraatrial Reentry Following the Mustard Procedure Defined by Multisite Magnetic Electroanatomic Mapping. This report describes a patient with d‐TGA post Mustard repair who presents with atrial arrhythmias. Two distinct intraatrial reentrant tachycardias were discovered and successful catheter ablation was performed in a unique atrial location not previously described. This case also explores the use of magnetic electroanatomic mapping in guiding catheter ablation. (PACE 2003; 26[Pt. I]:902–905)