2. Introduction
Catheter ablation has become a mainstream treatment option for atrial
fibrillation (AF). Electrical pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is well
established as the cornerstone of AF ablation.1, 2However, frequent AF recurrence after ablation remains an unsolved
problem, with reported 1-year AF recurrence rates of
20-50%.2-4 Several previous reports suggested that
patients with AF recurrence after ablation have a prolonged P-wave
duration.5-7 Atrial conduction disturbance is
considered the underlying mechanism of P-wave prolongation, and might be
associated with the arrhythmogenic substrate maintaining AF. However,
little is known about the impact of endocardial conduction velocity
after PVI and remaining arrhythmogenic substrate in the left atrium.
Atrial high-resolution mapping with
a 3-dimensional mapping system and
multipolar mapping catheter facilitates measurement of whole left atrial
conduction velocity (LACV) calculated from a precise conduction time and
distance between two designated points. The purpose of this study was to
elucidate the association between LACV and AF recurrence after PVI.