title: Atypical left atrial flutters.
abstract: Left atrial flutters are not as common as peri-tricuspidian circuits. Their systematic study is much more recent and had greatly benefited from the use of 3 D mapping systems. Reentry has been demonstrated as being the mechanism but the circuits are not stereotypical like in the right atrium. Multiple macroreentrant circuits with one or more loops have been described as well as small re-entrant circuits. The complexity and variability of these circuits is related to the presence of zone of block, slow conduction and electrically silent areas. They create the conditions for the arrhythmia maintenance as they stabilize the circuit and prevent short circuiting. Most of the patients with left atrial flutter have an underlying structural heart disease, but their arrhythmia is amenable to curative catheter ablation.
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Cardiologique du Haut-Lévêque, Pessac Cedex, France. pierre.jais@ph.u-bordeaux2.fr
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jaïs
authors.forename: Mélèze
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hocini
authors.forename: Rukshen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weerasoryia
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Macle
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scavee
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Raybaud
authors.forename: Dipen C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clémenty
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haïssaguerre
mesh_terms: D001282:Atrial Flutter / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D016279:Atrial Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*; D018780:Body Surface Potential Mapping; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000379:methods; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods*; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D004562:Electrocardiography; D022062:Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome