Atrial fibrillation inducibility in the absence of structural heart disease or clinical atrial fibrillation: Critical dependence on induction protocol, inducibility definition, and number of inductions

Abstract

Background-Inducibility of atrial fibrillation (AF) after pulmonary vein isolation has been used to guide additional left atrial ablation in paroxysmal AF. The sensitivity and specificity of AF induction in this setting remains uncertain. We examined the incidence and characteristics of inducible AF in patients without structural heart disease or clinical AF and the effect of different induction protocols on AF inducibility. Methods and Results-In 44 patients with supraventricular tachycardia with no history of AF or risk factors for AF, atrial refractoriness and conduction were measured, followed by AF induction attempts (10/patient). Each induction was performed after a waiting time that e..