title: Mechanisms of atrial fibrillation and flutter and implications for management.
abstract: Both electrophysiologic and anatomical substrates are important in the generation and maintenance of atrial fibrillation. This review discusses the nature of re-entrant wavefronts in atrial fibrillation and the importance of anatomical structures, such as the pectinate muscles, in the generation and maintenance of re-entry. The involvement of the pectinate muscle structure on intra-atrial re-entry may have significant implications for both ablation and pharmacologic management of patients with atrial fibrillation.
authors.affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Department of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Athill
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Karagueuzian
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001282:Atrial Flutter / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001283:Atrioventricular Node / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000187:drug effects; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D013611:Tachycardia, Atrioventricular Nodal Reentry / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*