Clinical usefulness of slow pathway ablation in patients with both paroxysmal atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia and atrial fibrillation

This study shows that paroxysmal AF can complicate the clinical course of patients with AV nodal reentrant tachycardia, both in the presence and the absence of structural heart abnormalities. In patients without structural abnormalities slow pathway ablation is generally curative, eliminating both AV nodal reentrant tachycardia and AF. Conversely, in patients with structural heart abnormalities, AF alone can recur despite slow pathway ablation. Palpitations are less likely to be completely eliminated by ablation in the latter cases than in the former.