Multi-Modality Imaging for the Identification of Arrhythmogenic Substrates Prior to Electrophysiology Studies

Noninvasive cardiac imaging is crucial for the characterization of patients who are candidates for cardiac ablations, for both procedure planning and long-term management. Multimodality cardiac imaging can provide not only anatomical parameters but even more importantly functional information that may allow a better risk stratification of cardiac patients. Moreover, fusion of anatomical and functional data derived from noninvasive cardiac imaging with the results of endocavitary mapping may possibly allow a better identification of the ablation substrate and also avoid peri-procedural complications. As a result, imaging-guided electrophysiological procedures are associated with an improved outcome than traditional ablation procedures, with a consistently lower recurrence rate.