Biophysical Tissue Characterization of Ventricular Tachycardia Substrate With Local Impedance Mapping to Predict Critical Sites

Tissue Characteristics Underlying Endocardial Local Impedance Subtypes in Chronic myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND

Local impedance (LI) mapping is feasible and provides additional tissue characterization of the ventricular tachycardia substrate. Data on tissue composition underlying the LI spectrum are lacking.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the tissue composition underlying different LI subtypes in a chronic myocardial infarction (MI) swine model.

METHODS

One month after non-reperfused anterior MI, eigtheen Landrace Large White pigs underwent delayed-enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (DE-CMR) and endocardial left ventricular (LV) LI mapping. DE-CMR images were post-processed off-line to obtain LV wall thickness, scar subtypes, and border-zone (BZ) corridors, and were co-registered with LI maps. Tissue samples were obtained from abnormal LI sites.

RESULTS

Low LI zones exhibited more pronounced wall thinning compared to intermediate LI tissue (2.8±0.7 vs 3.8 ± 0.9 mm; P < 0.001) and correlated with DE-CMR dense endocardial scarring (91.4%) and with epicardial scarring (75% dense and 24% BZ tissue). Intermediate LI tissue exhibited predominantly subendocardial scarring, with more heterogeneous distribution (45% dense, 47% BZ, and 8% healthy tissue) and less epicardial involvement (73% healthy tissue). Most DE-CMR BZ corridors (75.6%) co-localized with intermediate LI tissue. Histologically, tissue from intermediate LI zones displayed less collagen I (P = 0.008), collagen III (P = 0.053), and collagen volume fraction (P = 0.021), and greater vascular density (P = 0.075), compared to low LI zones.

CONCLUSIONS

Areas of low LI had higher proportion of dense, transmural scar and wall thinning compared to intermediate LI areas. DE-CMR BZ corridors colocalized with intermediate LI in most cases. LI subtypes showed distinctive histological composition.

Epicardial ventricular arrhythmia ablation: a clinical consensus statement of the European Heart Rhythm Association of the European Society of Cardiology and the Heart Rhythm Society, the Asian Pacific Heart Rhythm Society, the Latin American Heart Rhythm Society, and the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society

Epicardial access during electrophysiology procedures offers valuable insights and therapeutic options for managing ventricular arrhythmias (VAs). The current clinical consensus statement on epicardial VA ablation aims to provide clinicians with a comprehensive understanding of this complex clinical scenario. It offers structured advice and a systematic approach to patient management. Specific sections are devoted to anatomical considerations, criteria for epicardial access and mapping evaluation, methods of epicardial access, management of complications, training, and institutional requirements for epicardial VA ablation. This consensus is a joint effort of collaborating cardiac electrophysiology societies, including the European Heart Rhythm Association, the Heart Rhythm Society, the Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society, the Latin American Heart Rhythm Society, and the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society.

Surpoint algorithm for improved guidance of ablation for ventricular tachycardia (SURFIRE-VT): A pilot study

INTRODUCTION

The utility of ablation index (AI) to guide ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation in patients with structural heart disease is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess procedural characteristics and clinical outcomes achieved using AI-guided strategy (target value 550) or conventional non-AI-guided parameters in patients undergoing scar-related VT ablation.

METHODS

Consecutive patients (n = 103) undergoing initial VT ablation at a single center from 2017 to 2022 were evaluated. Patient groups were 1:1 propensity-matched for baseline characteristics. Single lesion characteristics for all 4707 lesions in the matched cohort (n = 74) were analyzed. The impact of ablation characteristics was assessed by linear regression and clinical outcomes were evaluated by Cox proportional hazard model.

RESULTS

After propensity-matching, baseline characteristics were well-balanced between AI (n = 37) and non-AI (n = 37) groups. Lesion sets were similar (scar homogenization [41% vs. 27%; p = .34], scar dechanneling [19% vs. 8%; p = .18], core isolation [5% vs. 11%; p = .4], linear and elimination late potentials/local abnormal ventricular activities [35% vs. 44%; p = .48], epicardial mapping/ablation [11% vs. 14%; p = .73]). AI-guided strategy had 21% lower procedure duration (-47.27 min, 95% confidence interval [CI] [-81.613, -12.928]; p = .008), 49% lower radiofrequency time per lesion (-13.707 s, 95% CI [-17.86, -9.555]; p < .001), 21% lower volume of fluid administered (1664 cc [1127, 2209] vs. 2126 cc [1750, 2593]; p = .005). Total radiofrequency duration (-339 s [-24%], 95%CI [-776, 62]; p = .09) and steam pops (-155.6%, 95% CI [19.8%, -330.9%]; p = .08) were nonsignificantly lower in the AI group. Acute procedural success (95% vs. 89%; p = .7) and VT recurrence (0.97, 95% CI [0.42-2.2]; p = .93) were similar for both groups. Lesion analysis (n = 4707) demonstrated a plateau in the magnitude of impedance drops once reaching an AI of 550-600.

CONCLUSION

In this pilot study, an AI-guided ablation strategy for scar-related VT resulted in shorter procedure time and average radiofrequency time per lesion with similar acute procedural and intermediate-term clinical outcomes to a non-AI-guided approach utilizing traditional ablation parameters.