High-density mapping and ablation of concealed low-voltage activity within pulmonary vein antra results in improved freedom from atrial fibrillation compared to pulmonary vein isolation alone

Background: Despite advancements, the goal of durable pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in all patients undergoing ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) remains elusive. New high-density mapping (HDM) allows detection of concealed low-voltage signals (CLVSs) that persist after PVI and may represent vulnerabilities in the lesion set.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of CLVSs after PVI and the effect of CLVS ablation on outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a case control study comparing 150 patients undergoing HDM-guided PVI and subsequent CLVS mapping and ablation (39 redo, 111 de novo) against 452 historical controls undergoing traditional PVI alone. PVI was similarly performed and confirmed in both groups.

Results: Baseline characteristics were similar, except left atrial size was larger in the HDM-guided group. Acute PVI was achieved in nearly all patients in both groups. In the HDM group, 31 of 150 patients exhibited CLVS after luminal PVI, and all were subsequently eliminated. During mean follow-up of 320 days, after controlling for baseline characteristics, the HDM-guided group exhibited a hazard ratio of 0.19 in freedom from AF (P <.001). De novo patients exhibited a hazard ratio of 0.44 relative to redo patients in the HDM-guided group. Both subgroups exhibited significantly lower event rates compared to controls in log-rank analysis (P <.001).

Conclusion: CLVSs are commonly identified with HDM after PVI, likely representing vulnerabilities in antral lesion sets. Ablation of these targets seems to significantly improve freedom from AF compared to PVI alone.