Transcatheter ablation of supraventricular tachycardias in pediatric patients.

Ablation has become an important treatment for many pediatric patients with common supraventricular tachycardias (SVTs). Many multicenter studies have documented that radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation is a safe and effective procedure for treatment of a large variety of SVTs in children and adults with a high success rate and minimal complications. Novel electrophysiology technologies such as electroanatomic mapping and sophisticated ablating catheters have improved success rates and decreased complications of transcatheter ablation. Moreover, within the last several years, a new energy source using cryoenergy has evolved as a safe and effective alternative for catheter ablation for arrhythmogenic substrates traditionally associated with increased risk when using RF ablation. In this review pediatric transcatheter ablation practice is analysed and discussed with reference to current clinical guidelines.