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Updated: May 12, 2026
Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 26, 2013
Mapping and ablation of left atrial flutters
P Jaïs1, D C Shah, M Haïssaguerre
1Hôpital Cardiologique du Haut-Lévéque, Bordeaux-Pessac, France.
Background:
Typical right atrial isthmus-dependent flutters have been described in detail, but very little is known about left atrial (LA) flutters.
Methods And Results:
We performed conventional and 3D mapping of the LA for 22 patients with atypical flutters. Complete maps in 17 patients demonstrated macroreentrant circuits (n=15) with 1 to 3 loops rotating around the mitral annulus, the pulmonary veins, and a zone of block or a silent area. In 2 patients, a small reentry circuit with a zone of markedly slow conduction was identified. Linear ablation performed across the most accessible part of the circuit cured 16 patients (73%) with a follow-up of 15+/-7 months.
Conclusions:
LA reentrant tachycardias are related to individually varying circuits and are amenable to mapping guided radiofrequency ablation.
