title: Left atrial appendage: an underrecognized trigger site of atrial fibrillation.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St David's Medical Center, Austin, Tex 78705, USA.
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authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Burkhardt
authors.forename: Prasant
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authors.lastname: Mohanty
authors.forename: Javier
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authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: Sanghamitra
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authors.lastname: Mohanty
authors.forename: Rodney
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authors.lastname: Horton
authors.forename: G Joseph
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authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: Jason D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Zagrodzky
authors.forename: Pasquale
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authors.forename: Steven
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authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Richard
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authors.forename: Salwa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beheiry
authors.forename: Sakis
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authors.lastname: Themistoclakis
authors.forename: Aldo
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authors.forename: Antonio
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authors.lastname: Corrado
authors.forename: Antonio
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authors.lastname: Raviele
authors.forename: Amin
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authors.lastname: Al-Ahmad
authors.forename: Paul
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authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jennifer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Schweikert
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pelargonio
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dello Russo
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casella
authors.forename: Pietro
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authors.lastname: Santarelli
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Andrea
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authors.lastname: Natale
mesh_terms: 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