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(Circulation. 2006;113:e666-e668.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiology Patient Page

Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation

Alyson Ames, PA-C, MHS; William G. Stevenson, MD

From the Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Mass.

Correspondence to William G. Stevenson, MD, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail wstevenson@partners.org

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	Introduction

 
During normal rhythm, an electrical impulse originates from the normal pacemaker of the heart (sinus node) and travels through the upper chambers of the heart (the right and left atria) to cross over a bridge (AV node) to the pumping chambers (ventricles), causing a heartbeat. This is normal sinus rhythm. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a heart rhythm disorder with rapid, irregular, and chaotic electrical activity in the atria (Figure). The atrial electrical signals bombard the AV node, and some pass through the AV node to the ventricles, producing a rapid, irregular rate and often causing symptoms of palpitations, shortness of breath, or fatigue. AF affects more than 2 million people in the United States alone; it is seen progressively more frequently as a person ages.

View larger version (67K): [in this window] [in a new window]   MRI of the left atrium as viewed from the patient’s back and one mechanism hypothesized to result in AF. Pulmonary veins extend from each side of the atrium. A, A focus on one of the veins might fire and produce an electrical impulse (yellow arrows) that excites the rest of the atrium. B, With rapid firing, the electrical signals begin dividing as they circulate around the atrium. C, The focus is not firing, but the electrical impulses that it initiated continue to circulate around the atrium, producing atrial fibrillation. D, Location of ablation lesions (light blue circles) encircling the pulmonary veins on both sides of the atrium. These lesions prevent any triggers around the pulmonary veins from exciting the rest of the atrium . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Circulation 2006 113: 1633. [Extract] [Full Text]

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