A 70‐year‐old man was referred for evaluation and treatment of wide QRS complex tachycardia with left bundle branch block morphology. Electrocardiography showed atrial bigeminy with an alternating bundle branch block (ABBB) aberration. Atrial burst stimulation reproducibly demonstrated ABBB. What is the mechanism?
We herein report a case of coarctation of the aorta (CoA) in an asymptomatic adult who had a preserved exercise capacity. A 56-year-old man with mild hypertension exhibited left ventricular hypertrophy on an electrocardiogram during an annual medical checkup. Echocardiography showed a bicuspid aortic valve and cor triatriatum sinister, and subsequent computed tomography revealed CoA with developed collaterals. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing showed a good exercise capacity. He refused surgical repair and has been asymptomatic for five years. This case is of special interest, as CoA is usually rarely noticed during adulthood if there are no severe congenital anomalies, and in addition, this patient had good exercise capacity.
Objective Early recurrence (ER) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for atrial fibrillation (AF) is expected to resolve within the recommended 3-month blanking period, irrespective of the ablation device used. To compare the occurrence and relationship of AF within the blanking period and subsequent late recurrence (LR) with radiofrequency (RF) and cryoballoon (CB) ablation. Methods A retrospective analysis of 294 patients (mean age=62±9, 70.0% male) undergoing PVI for drugrefractory paroxysmal AF was done. After categorizing the patients into the RF group (n=152) and the CB group (n=142), a group-wise comparison was done to investigate the impact of ER on LR throughout a 2year follow-up.
ResultsThe groups were similar regarding the occurrence of ER (RF=22.4%, CB=24.6%, p=0.62), while LR was significantly higher in the RF group (p=0.003). ER was associated with LR in the RF group (p< 0.01) but not in the CB group (p=0.08), while a significant independent association with an increased LR risk was observed [hazard ratio (HR) 6.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3. 56-10.51, p<0.01]. RF ablation also significantly increased the risk of LR (HR=2.93; 95% CI=1.64-5.23, p<0.01). Conclusion A recurrence of atrial arrhythmia is more frequent with RF-PVI than with CB-PVI for patients with paroxysmal AF. ER and RF-ablation are strong predictors for LR after the 3-month blanking period.
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