Gastrointestinal complications associated with catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation.
Publication/Presentation Date
12-1-2016
Abstract
Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in the United States. With the ageing population, the incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation are on the rise. Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation is a widely accepted treatment modality in patients with drug refractory symptomatic paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation. The close proximity to the left atrium posterior wall makes the thermosensitive esophagus a potential site of injury during catheter ablation of AF leading to various gastrointestinal complications. The major gastrointestinal complications associated with catheter ablation include atrioesophageal fistula, gastroparesis, esophageal thermal lesions and esophageal ulcers. Multiple studies, case reports and series have described these complications with various catheter ablation techniques such as radiofrequency, cryoenergy and high frequency focused ultrasound energy ablation. This review addresses the gastrointestinal complications after AF ablation procedures and aims to provide the clinicians with an overview of clinical presentation, etiology, pathogenesis, prevention and management of these conditions.
Volume
224
First Page
424
Last Page
430
ISSN
1874-1754
Published In/Presented At
Garg, L., Garg, J., Gupta, N., Shah, N., Krishnamoorthy, P., Palaniswamy, C., & ... Natale, A. (2016). Gastrointestinal complications associated with catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. International Journal Of Cardiology, 224424-430. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2016.09.069
Disciplines
Cardiology | Medical Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
27690340
Department(s)
Department of Medicine, Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine Faculty, Department of Medicine Fellows and Residents
Document Type
Article