OBJECTIVES: Typical atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) can be cured with slow pathway ablation. This study was designed to assess the alterations in atrial and ventricular functioning using speckle tracking echocardiography in consecutive patients with typical AVNRT who underwent slow pathway radiofrequency (RF) ablation. STUDY DESIGN: Included in this study were 23 consecutive patients with symptomatic drug-resistant typical (slow-fast) AVNRT, all of whom underwent an invasive electrophysiology study and RF ablation. Patients underwent transthoracic echocardiographic evaluation 24 hours before and 24 hours after the ablation procedure. RESULTS: AVNRT was induced during the electrophysiological study, and RF ablation successfully eliminated tachyarrhythmia in 23 (100%) patients. The atrial-His (A-H) interval was decreased in the post-ablation period compared to the pre-ablation period without the occurrence of immediate conduction disturbances. Peak left atrial longitudinal strain during the reservoir phase was increased in the post-ablation period compared to the pre-ablation period (48.24±16.45 vs. 38.07±15.72, p<0.001). The left atrial septal electromechanical coupling time was significantly decreased after the procedure (48.90±12.26 vs. 38.92±7.14 ms, p=0.036). CONCLUSION: In addition to treatment of arrhythmia, RF catheter ablation of AVNRT may also restore left atrial function as early as 24 hours after the procedure.
OBJECTIVES: Typical atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) can be cured with slow pathway ablation. This study was designed to assess the alterations in atrial and ventricular functioning using speckle tracking echocardiography in consecutive patients with typical AVNRT who underwent slow pathway radiofrequency (RF) ablation. STUDY DESIGN: Included in this study were 23 consecutive patients with symptomatic drug-resistant typical (slow-fast) AVNRT, all of whom underwent an invasive electrophysiology study and RF ablation. Patients underwent transthoracic echocardiographic evaluation 24 hours before and 24 hours after the ablation procedure. RESULTS: AVNRT was induced during the electrophysiological study, and RF ablation successfully eliminated tachyarrhythmia in 23 (100%) patients. The atrial-His (A-H) interval was decreased in the post-ablation period compared to the pre-ablation period without the occurrence of immediate conduction disturbances. Peak left atrial longitudinal strain during the reservoir phase was increased in the post-ablation period compared to the pre-ablation period (48.24±16.45 vs. 38.07±15.72, p<0.001). The left atrial septal electromechanical coupling time was significantly decreased after the procedure (48.90±12.26 vs. 38.92±7.14 ms, p=0.036). CONCLUSION: In addition to treatment of arrhythmia, RF catheter ablation of AVNRT may also restore left atrial function as early as 24 hours after the procedure.