title: Imaging before and after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.
abstract: Catheter ablation of arrhythmogenic triggers has been validated for the treatment of atrial fibrillation that is refractory to anti-arrhythmic medication. Imaging plays an important role in guiding the procedure as well as in planning and follow-up. The goal of pre-procedural imaging is to obtain a detailed anatomical description of the pulmonary veins, to eliminate a thrombus of the left atrium and to define the prognostic factors. MDCT angiography effectively and simply meets nearly all of these needs. Thus, a precise description of the left atrium anatomy before the procedure is a key factor to success and left atrium volume is a reliable prognostic factor of recurrence. Radiologists should be aware of early and late complications, sometimes severe such as pulmonary vein stenosis, cardiac tamponade or atrial-esophageal fistula, whose positive diagnosis is based on imaging.
authors.affiliation: Service de radiologie, Nouvel hôpital civil, hôpitaux universitaires de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67000 Strasbourg, France; Laboratoire iCube, université de Strasbourg/CNRS, UMR 7357, 67400 Illkirch, France. Electronic address: mickael.ohana@gmail.com.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohana
authors.affiliation: Service de cardiologie, Nouvel hôpital civil, hôpitaux universitaires de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bakouboula
authors.affiliation: Service de radiologie, Nouvel hôpital civil, hôpitaux universitaires de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Labani
authors.affiliation: Service de radiologie, Nouvel hôpital civil, hôpitaux universitaires de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: M-Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Jeung
authors.affiliation: Service de radiologie, Nouvel hôpital civil, hôpitaux universitaires de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El Ghannudi
authors.affiliation: Service de cardiologie, Nouvel hôpital civil, hôpitaux universitaires de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jesel-Morel
authors.affiliation: Service de radiologie, Nouvel hôpital civil, hôpitaux universitaires de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roy
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011300:Preoperative Care
keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Cardiac imaging; Catheter ablation; Computed tomography; MDCT angiography