Background: Complex fractionated atrial electrogram (CFAE) guided ablation is effective in some patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF), but the pattern of CFAE may be different in the remodeled left atrium (LA).
Methods and results: In 100 AF patients (83 males, 55.0+/-10.6 years old) with AF (51 paroxysmal AF (PAF), 49 PeAF) who underwent catheter ablation, CFAE cycle length (CL) and distribution (NavX 3D map) were compared according to the LA volume (3D-CT) and endocardial voltage (during high right atrial pacing 500-ms (Vol(PACE)) and AF (Vol(AF); NavX). The mean CFAE-CL was longer (P=0.003) and the % area CFAE was smaller (P=0.006) in patients with LA >or=125 ml than those with <125 ml. The mean CFAE-CL was longer in patients with Vol(PACE) <1.7 mV than those with >or=1.7 mV (P=0.002) and in Vol(AF) <0.7 mV than >or=0.7 mV (P<0.001). The % area CFAE was smaller in patients with Vol(PACE) <1.7 mV than those with >or=1.7 mV (P=0.006). The incidence of septal CFAE was consistently high, regardless of the degree of LA remodeling.
Conclusions: In the AF patients with an electroanatomically remodeled LA, the % area of CFAE was smaller and mean CFAE-CL was longer than in those with a less remodeled LA. However, the majority of CFAE are consistently positioned on the septum in the remodeled LA.