Mechanisms of Atrial Fibrillation: Rotors, Ionic Determinants, and Excitation Frequency

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia; however, therapy is suboptimal. We review recent data on dynamics of wave propagation during AF and its mechanistic link to the substrate. Data show that the dominant frequency (DF) increase during transition to persistent AF may be explained by rotor acceleration. We discuss how translation of experimentally derived understanding of the rotors may find its way into the clinic, focusing on studies analyzing spatial distribution of DF in the atria of patients with paroxysmal versus persistent AF, and how that knowledge might contribute to improve the outcome of AF ablation procedures.