The inferior vena cava (IVC) is a rare site of focal atrial tachycardia (AT). Here, we report a 20-year-old woman who underwent catheter ablation for anti-arrhythmic drug-resistant AT originating from the IVC. She had undergone open-heart surgery for patch closure of an atrial septal defect 17 years previously and permanent pacemaker implantation for sinus node dysfunction 6 years previously. The AT focus was at the anterolateral aspect of the IVC-right atrial junction, and it was successfully ablated under three-dimensional electroanatomical-mapping guidance. We suspect that the mechanism of this tachycardia was associated with previous IVC cannulation for open-heart surgery.
Catheter Ablation ; Catheterization ; Female ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; Humans ; Sick Sinus Syndrome ; Tachycardia* ; Vena Cava, Inferior* ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have demonstrated an association between several single nucleotide polymorphisms and atrial fibrillation (AF). We hypothesized that the phenotypes of AF patients were associated with common AF susceptibility alleles. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 659 patients (57±9 years, 76% male) with AF who underwent catheter ablation and 659 age, and sex-matched controls were genotyped for the common AF susceptibility alleles rs2200733 and rs6843082 at 4q25, rs2106261 at ZFHX3, and rs13376333 at KCNN3. The phenotypes of AF patients, including electroanatomical characteristics of the left atrium and recurrence after ablation, were compared. RESULTS: The rs2200733 variant allele carriers have larger left atrium volume (128.5±40.7 vs. 113.5±29.2 mL, p=0.020), longer PR interval (185.9±32.6 vs. 174.8±21.9 ms, p=0.018), and higher amplitude of negative P-wave terminal force in Lead V₁ (0.07±0.04 vs. 0.05±0.04 mV, p=0.015) on electrocardiography than those without the variant allele. When the patients were assigned to three groups according to the number of variant alleles (Group A: no variant, n=15; Group B: 1 variant, n=158; Group C: 2 variants, n=439), incremental prognostic value, according to the number of variant alleles, was demonstrated (Log Rank p=0.015). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that persistent AF (OR 1.677, 95% CI 1.176-2.381, p=0.004) and the number of variants (OR 1.552, 95% CI 1.099-2.222, p=0.015) were independent predictors for recurrence of AF. CONCLUSION: This study showed the common AF susceptibility alleles at 4q25 and ZFHX3 are associated with electroanatomical characteristics of the left atrium and the clinical outcomes of catheter ablation in Korean patients with AF.
Alleles ; Atrial Fibrillation* ; Catheter Ablation* ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Atria* ; Humans ; Phenotype ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide* ; Recurrence

Pacemaker lead endocarditis is treated with total removal of the infected device and proper antibiotics. The outcomes of patients undergoing percutaneous lead extraction for large vegetations (>2 cm) have not yet been shown. In this case report, we present two patients with pacemaker lead endocarditis with large vegetations of maximum diameter 2.4 cm and 3.2 cm. The first patient had multiple vegetations attached to the tricuspid and mitral valves and developed septic emboli to the brain, lung, and liver. The second patient had a large, persistent vegetation on the tricuspid valve, even two weeks after complete removal of the leads. Both patients were successfully treated with transvenous pacemaker lead removal and antibiotics.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Brain ; Endocarditis* ; Humans ; Liver ; Lung ; Mitral Valve ; Pacemaker, Artificial ; Tricuspid Valve

PURPOSE: Circumferential pulmonary (PV) vein isolation (CPVI) is the most important treatment strategy for atrial fibrillation (AF). While understanding left atrial wall thickness around PVs (PVWT) prior to catheter ablation is important, its clinical implications are not known. This study aimed to evaluate PVWT characteristics according to underlying disease and to identify associations between PVWT and reconnections of PV potentials (PVPs) in redo ablation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 28 patients who underwent redo-AF ablation, PVWT and reconnected PVPs were evaluated at 12 sites (1–12 o'clock) around each PV. Clinical characteristics including stroke and CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores were analyzed according to the PVWT. RESULTS: The PVWT was thicker in males than females (p<0.001) and in those with diabetes (p=0.045) or heart failure (p=0.002) than in those without. Patients with strokes or high CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores (≥3) had significantly thinner PVWTs than those without strokes or low CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores (p<0.001). In redo-ablation, reconnected PVPs were detected in 60 (53.6%) of 112 PVs, and the PVs were thicker (p<0.001) and had more reconnected PVs (p=0.009) than right PVs. A PVWT of >0.6 mm predicted PV reconnections with a sensitivity of 76.7% and specificity of 52.2% with an area under the curve of 0.695. CONCLUSION: Thick PVWs were associated with diabetes and heart failure, and also showed significant inverse correlations with stroke and the CHA₂DS₂-VASc score. Thick PVWs were associated with reconnected PVPs after the CPVI, which were related to AF recurrence.
Atrial Fibrillation* ; Catheter Ablation ; Female ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Male ; Pulmonary Veins* ; Recurrence ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stroke* ; Veins

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) extracted from electrocardiogram measured for a short period during a resting state is clinically used as a bio-signal reflecting the emotional state. However, as interest in wearable devices increases, greater attention is being paid to HRV extracted from long-term electrocardiogram, which may contain additional clinical information. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of HRV parameters extracted through long-term electrocardiogram and explore the differences between participants with and without depression and anxiety symptoms. Methods: Long-term electrocardiogram was acquired from 354 adults with no psychiatric history who underwent Holter monitoring. Evening and nighttime HRV and the ratio of nighttime-to-evening HRV were compared between 127 participants with depressive symptoms and 227 participants without depressive symptoms. Comparisons were also made between participants with and without anxiety symptoms. Results: Absolute values of HRV parameters did not differ between groups based on the presence of depressive or anxiety symptoms. Overall, HRV parameters increased at nighttime compared to evening. Participants with depressive symptoms showed a significantly higher nighttime-to-evening ratio of high-frequency HRV than participants without depressive symptoms. The nighttime-to-evening ratio of HRV parameters did not show a significant difference depending on the presence of anxiety symptoms. Conclusion HRV extracted through long-term electrocardiogram showed circadian rhythm. Depression may be associated with changes in the circadian rhythm of parasympathetic tone.

Background and objectives: Atrial fibrillation is a known risk factor for cryptogenic stroke and therefore requires early detection and prompt management. We investigated predictors of stroke recurrence in patients with cryptogenic stroke and concomitant non-sustained atrial tachycardia but not atrial fibrillation. Subjects and methods: We investigated 390 patients (219 men, mean age 67 ± 12 years) diagnosed with stroke and non-sustained atrial tachycardia on 24-h Holter monitoring and recorded the total number of atrial premature contractions identified by the Holter monitor. Multiple atrial premature contractions were defined as atrial premature contractions > 34 beats/day. We analyzed the rates of 5-year freedom from stroke recurrence or atrial fibrillation and investigated independent predictors of stroke recurrence and undiagnosed atrial fibrillation. Results: The mean follow-up period was 35 ± 21 months, and the overall stroke recurrence rate was 9.0%. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis revealed that the rate of freedom from stroke recurrence was significantly lower in patients with multiple atrial premature contractions. Also, the patients with multiple atrial premature contractions had higher cumulative incidence rate of new-onset AF (p = 0.019). Multivariate analysis showed that multiple atrial premature contractions (hazard ratio 2.49, 95% confidence interval 1.05–5.88, p = 0.038), cigarette smoking status (hazard ratio 2.66, 95% confidence interval 1.15–6.17, p = 0.022), and the left atrial volume index (hazard ratio 1.05, 95% confidence interval 1.01–1.09, p = 0.020) were significantly associated with stroke recurrence in patients with cryptogenic stroke. However, these factors were not statistically significant predictors of future onset of atrial fibrillation. Conclusions Multiple atrial premature contractions were significantly correlated with an increased left atrial volume index, which could predict future onset of atrial fibrillation and stroke recurrence. This study showed that multiple atrial premature contractions predict stroke recurrence in patients with cryptogenic stroke without atrial fibrillation.