Adjunctive GP Ablation In Redo-PVI: Paroxysmal Atrial Arrhythmias After Pulmonary Vein Isolation Are Driven By Ectopy-Triggering Left Atrial Ganglionated Plexus

Patients with ongoing paroxysmal arrhythmias after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) get incrementally less benefit with redo-PVI. This implies non-pulmonary vein (PV) triggers, which are more challenging to locate. The autonomic nervous system is implicated in the multifactorial pathogenesis of AF but few studies have attempted neural targeting as a therapeutic intervention. We have demonstrated that stimulation of specific left atrial ganglionated plexi (GPs) triggers both AF and atrial ectopy and importantly stimulation of these sites may not induce AV block, the 'conventional' marker used to locate GPs. Having shown that these ectopy-triggering GP (ET-GP) sites are anatomically stable and can be rendered inactive by either ablation at the site or by ablation between the site and the adjacent PV, a single centre study suggests that ET-GP ablation can prevent recurrent AF in some patients.