Complications of pulmonary vein isolation by catheter ablation evaluated by ECG-gated multislice computed tomography.

As pulmonary vein (PV) isolation by catheter ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation may cause PV luminal stenosis, digital subtraction angiography or magnetic resonance imaging have been used to evaluate the lumen of the PV. Electrocardiogram-gated multislice computed tomography can evaluate the lumen of the PV from any plane desired after acquisition with excellent spatial resolution. It can also evaluate hyperplasia of soft tissue around the lumen of the PV, which cannot be evaluated by digital subtraction angiography, and may thus serve as an indicator of complications or even the effectiveness of this treatment.