Safety of slow pathway ablation in patients with long PR interval: further evidence of fast and slow pathway interaction.

Whether the presence of abnormal PR before selective slow pathway ablation for AV node reentrant tachycardia increased the risk of complete heart block remains controversial. We report our experience in seven patients with prolonged PR intervals undergoing catheter ablation for AV reentry tachycardia. Their mean age was 66 +/- 12 years; four patients were female and three were male. RF ablation was performed using an anatomically guided stepwise approach. In six patients, common type AV node reentry was induced and uncommon type was observed in the remaining patient. In all seven patients, successful selective slow pathway ablation was associated with no occurrence of complete heart block and was followed by shortening of the AH interval in five patients. In all seven patients, successful ablation was achieved at anterior sites (M1 in two patients and M2 in five patients). Despite AH shortening after ablation, the 1:1 AV conduction was prolonged after elimination of the slow pathway, excluding either sympathetic tone activation or parasympathetic denervation. In conclusion, selective slow pathway ablation can be performed safely in the majority of patients with prolonged PR interval before the procedure. Because successful ablation is achieved at anterior sites in most patients, careful selection and monitoring of catheter position is required.