Pulmonary veins (PVs) and their myocardial sleeves play an important role in the development of atrial fibrillation. Hence, detailed knowledge of PV anatomy is required to improve the procedural success rate and prevent complications during cardiac procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the PV anatomy along with anatomical variations in the Indian population. Total 100 formalin fixed cadaveric hearts were examined. The number and pattern of the PVs were observed along with the measurement of their horizontal and vertical diameters. The ovality index for each PV was calculated. Classical PV pattern was observed in 62% cases. Variant pattern like additional right middle PV pattern and left common PV pattern were found in 20% and 10% cases respectively. A separate pattern with presence of both right middle PV and left common PV was observed in 6% cases. In the classical pattern right superior PV was the largest followed by right inferior, left superior and left inferior PV. The additional right middle PV had the smallest diameter whereas the left common PV had the largest diameter. Almost all the veins had greater vertical diameters in comparison to horizontal diameters. The variant PVs were oval and had greater ovality index compared to the normal PVs. In classical pattern 54.8% hearts whereas in variant pattern 79% hearts had one or more oval PV. The given data can help clinicians for planning and execution of various interventional and electrophysiological procedures involving PVs.
Keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Left atrium; Pulmonary veins; Radiofrequency catheter ablation.