Endocardial unipolar voltage mapping to detect epicardial ventricular tachycardia substrate in patients with nonischemic left ventricular cardiomyopathy.
BACKGROUND
Patients with nonischemic left ventricular cardiomyopathy (LVCM) and ventricular tachycardia (Vt) have complex 3-dimensional substrate with variable involvement of the endocardium (ENDO) and epicardium (EPI). The purpose of this study was to determine whether ENDO unipolar (UNI) mapping with a larger electric field of view could identify EPI low bipolar (BIP) voltage regions in patients with LVCM undergoing Vt ablation.


RESULTS
The reference value for normal ENDO unipolar voltage was determined from 6 patients without structural heart disease. Consecutive patients undergoing Vt ablation over an 8-year period with detailed (>100 points) LV ENDO and EPI mapping and normal LV ENDO BIP voltage were identified. From this cohort, we compared patients with structurally normal hearts and normal EPI BIP voltage (EPI-, group 1) with patients with LVCM and low LV EPI BIP voltage regions present (EPI+, group 2). Confluent regions of ENDO UNI and EPI BIP low voltage (>2 cm(2)) were measured. The normal signal amplitude was >8.27 mV for LV ENDO UNI electrograms. Detailed LV ENDO-EPI maps in 5 EPI- patients were compared with 11 EPI+ patients. Confluent ENDO UNI low-voltage regions were seen in 9 of 11 (82%) of the EPI+ (group 2) patients compared with none of 5 EPI- (group 1) patients (P<0.001). In all 9 patients with ENDO UNI low voltage, the ENDO UNI low-voltage regions were directly opposite to an area of EPI BIP low voltage (61% ENDO UNI-EPI BIP low-voltage area overlap).


CONCLUSIONS
EPI arrhythmia substrate can be reliably identified in most patients with LVCM using ENDO UNI voltage mapping in the absence of ENDO BIP abnormalities.
Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Mathew.Hutchinson@uphs.upenn.edu
Mathew D
MD
Hutchinson
Edward P
EP
Gerstenfeld
Benoit
B
Desjardins
Rupa
R
Bala
Michael P
MP
Riley
Fermin C
FC
Garcia
Sanjay
S
Dixit
David
D
Lin
Wendy S
WS
Tzou
Joshua M
JM
Cooper
Ralph J
RJ
Verdino
David J
DJ
Callans
Francis E
FE
Marchlinski
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018780:Body Surface Potential Mapping / Q000379:methods; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D004562:Electrocardiography; D022062:Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac / Q000379:methods*; D004699:Endocardium / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010496:Pericardium / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000503:physiopathology*