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Hybrid Epicardial-Endocardial Approach to Atrial Fibrillation Ablation

  • Arrhythmia (G Upadhyay, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Who should undergo hybrid AF ablation?

Patients with symptomatic persistent or long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation refractory to pharmacological or routine catheter ablation can be considered for hybrid epicardial-endocardial AF ablation. Although it seems clear that patient selection should be important when considering hybrid AF ablation for optimal results, unfortunately, available data on the outcomes of hybrid epicardial-endocardial ablation is limited. Hybrid ablation is rarely compared to stand-alone catheter ablation, the surgical approach (access site, lesion set, ablation tool) is inconsistent, and the patient population studied is often suitable for a catheter ablation approach (paroxysmal AF, minimal structural heart disease). We believe that the hybrid approach should be considered in patients who either have had unsuccessful catheter ablations or have significant structural heart disease evident by enlarged left atrial size or atrial fibrosis. These are the patients who warrant the added risk of a hybrid approach and who stand to benefit from a more extensive ablation including isolation of the posterior wall of the left atrium. Multi-center studies with a uniform hybrid ablation approach and comparison with a stand-alone catheter ablation approach are needed to help clarify the role of hybrid AF ablation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 160 Dental Circle, CB 7075, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Khola Tahir MD & Anil Gehi MD

  2. Division of Cardiac Surgery, East Carolina Heart Institute, Greenville, NC, USA

    Andy Kiser MD

  3. Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Thomas Caranasos MD

  4. Division of Cardiology, East Carolina Heart Institute, Greenville, NC, USA

    J. Paul Mounsey MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Khola Tahir MD
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  2. Andy Kiser MD
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  3. Thomas Caranasos MD
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  4. J. Paul Mounsey MD, PhD
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  5. Anil Gehi MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anil Gehi MD.

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Conflict of Interest

Khola Tahir and Thomas Caranasos each declare no potential conflicts of interest. Andy Kiser is a consultant for Atricure, Inc. J. Paul Mounsey is a consultant for Atricure, Inc., Boston Scientific, and Medtronic. Anil Gehi reports research funding from Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and speaker’s honoraria from Zoll Inc. and Abbott Inc.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Arrhythmia

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Tahir, K., Kiser, A., Caranasos, T. et al. Hybrid Epicardial-Endocardial Approach to Atrial Fibrillation Ablation. Curr Treat Options Cardio Med 20, 25 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11936-018-0613-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11936-018-0613-3

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