Left atrial appendage: an underrecognized trigger site of atrial fibrillation.
BACKGROUND
Together with pulmonary veins, many extrapulmonary vein areas may be the source of initiation and maintenance of atrial fibrillation. The left atrial appendage (LAA) is an underestimated site of initiation of atrial fibrillation. Here, we report the prevalence of triggers from the LAA and the best strategy for successful ablation.


RESULTS
Nine hundred eighty-seven consecutive patients (29% paroxysmal, 71% nonparoxysmal) undergoing redo catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation were enrolled. Two hundred sixty-six patients (27%) showed firing from the LAA and became the study population. In 86 of 987 patients (8.7%; 5 paroxysmal, 81 nonparoxysmal), the LAA was found to be the only source of arrhythmia with no pulmonary veins or other extrapulmonary vein site reconnection. Ablation was performed either with focal lesion (n=56; group 2) or to achieve LAA isolation by placement of the circular catheter at the ostium of the LAA guided by intracardiac echocardiography (167 patients; group 3). In the remaining patients, LAA firing was not ablated (n=43; group 1). At the 12+/-3-month follow-up, 32 patients (74%) in group 1 had recurrence compared with 38 (68%) in group 2 and 25 (15%) in group 3 (P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The LAA appears to be responsible for arrhythmias in 27% of patients presenting for repeat procedures. Isolation of the LAA could achieve freedom from atrial fibrillation in patients presenting for a repeat procedure when arrhythmias initiating from this structure are demonstrated.
Di Biase
Luigi
L
Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St David's Medical Center, Austin, Tex 78705, USA.
Burkhardt
J David
JD
Mohanty
Prasant
P
Sanchez
Javier
J
Mohanty
Sanghamitra
S
Horton
Rodney
R
Gallinghouse
G Joseph
GJ
Bailey
Shane M
SM
Zagrodzky
Jason D
JD
Santangeli
Pasquale
P
Hao
Steven
S
Hongo
Richard
R
Beheiry
Salwa
S
Themistoclakis
Sakis
S
Bonso
Aldo
A
Rossillo
Antonio
A
Corrado
Andrea
A
Raviele
Antonio
A
Al-Ahmad
Amin
A
Wang
Paul
P
Cummings
Jennifer E
JE
Schweikert
Robert A
RA
Pelargonio
Gemma
G
Dello Russo
Antonio
A
Casella
Michela
M
Santarelli
Pietro
P
Lewis
William R
WR
Natale
Andrea
A
D000368:Aged; D020517:Atrial Appendage / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged