title: Inducibility of atrial flutter in patients with atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies have shown that both atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) and atrial flutter (AFL) have an area of slow conduction located in the low posterior right atrium near the ostium of the coronary sinus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inducibility of AFL in patients with AVNRT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and seventy patients were prospectively evaluated for inducibility of tricuspid valve - inferior vena cava isthmus-dependent AFL. Two groups of patients were analyzed: 71 patients with inducible AVNRT and 99 control patients without a history of AFL. AFL was induced in a greater percentage of patients with AVNRT (53%) than of control patients (27%, p<0.02). In all 21 patients with AVNRT and inducible AFL before slow pathway ablation, AFL was also inducible after slow pathway ablation. There was no difference in the cycle length of induced AFL before and after ablation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AFL was induced in a greater percentage of patients with AVNRT, suggesting that there may be a common area of posteroseptal perinodal atrium participating in the two-tachycardia circuits. However, radiofrequency ablation of the slow pathway of the AVNRT circuit does not influence the inducibility of AFL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Disease, Nihon University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: Kimie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okubo
authors.forename: Sonoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ashino
authors.forename: Masayoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kofune
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shindo
authors.forename: Hidezou
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugimura
authors.forename: Toshiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saito
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001282:Atrial Flutter / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012850:Sinus of Valsalva / Q000473:pathology; D013611:Tachycardia, Atrioventricular Nodal Reentry / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014261:Tricuspid Valve / Q000473:pathology