Body-surface distribution of changes in activation-recovery intervals before and after catheter ablation in patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome: clinical evidence for ventricular 'electrical remodeling' with prolongation of action-potential duration over a preexcited area.
BACKGROUND
T-wave abnormalities after catheter ablation in patients with manifest Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome have been attributed to a continuation of repolarization abnormalities induced by preexcitation (cardiac memory).


RESULTS
To clarify changes in repolarization properties, we analyzed the activation-recovery interval (ARI) obtained from body-surface maps and the relationship between the activation time (AT) and ARI in 30 patients with WPW syndrome (group A, 18 patients with manifest left-sided accessory pathway; group B, 7 patients with manifest right-sided accessory pathway; and group C, 5 patients with concealed left-sided accessory pathway) before, 1 day after, and 1 week after ablation. The ARI significantly decreased 1 week after ablation compared with before and 1 day after ablation over the preexcited area in groups A and B. Correlation coefficients between the AT and ARI showed a significantly (P<.01) stronger inverse relationship before (r=-.58) and 1 week after (r=-.64) ablation than 1 day after ablation (r=-.46) in groups A and B. In group C, the ARI and correlation coefficients between the AT and ARI showed no significant changes.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest a prolongation of the action-potential duration over the preexcited area before and just after ablation as ventricular "electrical remodeling," a decrease in the inverse relationship between the AT and action-potential duration 1 day after ablation, and a gradual recovery of the action-potential duration over the preexcited area and inverse relationship 1 week after ablation.
Akahoshi
M
M
First Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nagoya School of Medicine, Japan.
Hirai
M
M
Inden
Y
Y
Sano
H
H
Shimizu
A
A
Kondo
T
T
Makino
M
M
Horiba
M
M
Yoshida
Y
Y
Tsuboi
N
N
Hirayama
H
H
Ito
T
T
Hayashi
H
H
Saito
H
H
D000200:Action Potentials; D000328:Adult; D018780:Body Surface Potential Mapping; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011930:Reaction Time; D014927:Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*