Epicardial connections and bi‐atrial tachycardias: From anatomy to clinical practice

Abstract

Bi‐atrial tachycardia (BiAT) is not rare after extensive atrial ablation or cardiac surgery. The complexity of bi‐atrial reentrant circuits poses a great challenge for clinical practice. With recent advances in mapping technologies, we are now able to characterize atrial activation in detail. However, given the involvement of both atria and multiple epicardial conductions, endocardial mapping for BiATs is not easy to understand. Knowledge of the atrial myocardial architecture is the foundation for the clinical management of BiATs; as it is required to understand the possible mechanism of the tachycardia and identify the optimal target of ablation. In this review we summarize current knowledge about the anatomy of interatrial connections as well as other epicardial fibers and discuss the interpretation of electrophysiological findings and ablation strategies for BiATs.