SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF ATRIAL COMPONENTS OF ABLATION CATHETER SIGNALS DURING SLOW PATHWAY ABLATION FOR TYPICAL ATRIOVENTRICULAR NODAL REENTRANT TACHYCARDIA

Abstract

Ablation of the slow pathway is the treatment standard for typical atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT). However, the risk of complete heart block due to ablation of the fast pathway remains approximately 1%. Spectral analysis of the atrial components of ablation catheter signals during slow pathway ablation can provide additional information for precisely defining ablation sites. A retrospective study of the atrial components of 70 ablation catheter signals obtained from 20 patients was performed. Signals immediately prior to ablations wereanalyzed. The signals were divided into two groups: “good” (desired ablation answer) and “bad.” MATLAB software was used to analyze the signals. The amplitude spectrum received most attention. Afterwards, we compared similarities between “good” and “bad” signals from one patient using cross-correlation. The study population consisted of 20 patients. Each patient had one “good” signal and two or more “bad” signals. The mean frequency of the “good” signals was 13.37 ± 6.78 Hz and of the “bad” signals was 15.79 ± 6.82 Hz (p = n.s.). The relationship between “good” and “bad” signals was 0.73 ± 0.19. The amplitude spectrum of the atrial components of ablation catheter signals did not provide any useful differentiation for improving ablation accuracy.