EuropacePub Date : 2026-09-02DOI: 10.1093/europace/euag234
Peter Vibe Rasmussen, Anders Holt, Jacob Tønnesen, Charlotte Middelfart, Morten Lamberts, Jacob Tfelt-Hansen, Martin H Ruwald, Peter Karl Jacobsen, Morten Lock Hansen
{"title":"Incidence and clinical implications of ventricular tachycardia: a population-based approach.","authors":"Peter Vibe Rasmussen, Anders Holt, Jacob Tønnesen, Charlotte Middelfart, Morten Lamberts, Jacob Tfelt-Hansen, Martin H Ruwald, Peter Karl Jacobsen, Morten Lock Hansen","doi":"10.1093/europace/euag234","DOIUrl":"10.1093/europace/euag234","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11981,"journal":{"name":"Europace","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13560082/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148886789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
EuropacePub Date : 2026-09-02DOI: 10.1093/europace/euag160
Luigi Sciarra, Fabrizio Ricci, Elena Cavarretta, Zefferino Palamà, Alessio Borrelli, Mauro Di Roma, Leonardo Pignalosa, Federico Zanin, Daniele Falco, Giulia Renda, Cesare Mantini, Sabina Gallina, Francesco Brancati, Silvio Romano, Antonio Scarà
{"title":"Programmed ventricular stimulation for risk stratification in symptomatic athletes with nonischemic left ventricular scar and preserved ejection fraction.","authors":"Luigi Sciarra, Fabrizio Ricci, Elena Cavarretta, Zefferino Palamà, Alessio Borrelli, Mauro Di Roma, Leonardo Pignalosa, Federico Zanin, Daniele Falco, Giulia Renda, Cesare Mantini, Sabina Gallina, Francesco Brancati, Silvio Romano, Antonio Scarà","doi":"10.1093/europace/euag160","DOIUrl":"10.1093/europace/euag160","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Non-ischaemic left ventricular (LV) scar is increasingly recognized in athletes with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and may represent a substrate for malignant ventricular arrhythmias. The role of electrophysiological study (EPS) with programmed ventricular stimulation (PVS) for risk stratification in this population remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of inducibility at EPS in symptomatic athletes with non-ischaemic LV scar and preserved LVEF.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>We prospectively enrolled 72 consecutive athletes (mean age 48.9 ± 13.1 years; 66.7% male) with documented non-ischaemic LV scar, preserved LVEF (≥50%), and arrhythmic symptoms (tachycardic palpitations, syncope/presyncope, and/or exercise-related ventricular arrhythmias) undergoing EPS. Inducibility was defined as sustained ventricular arrhythmias during PVS. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of major arrhythmic events (MAE), including sudden cardiac death, sustained ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation, or appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy. Twenty-three athletes (31.9%) were inducible (EPS+), while 49 (68.1%) were non-inducible (EPS-). Baseline characteristics were largely comparable between groups, although QRS duration was longer in inducible athletes (104.6 ± 15.2 ms vs. 95.5 ± 14.3 ms; P = 0.019). Twenty-three inducible athletes underwent ICD implantation (18 transvenous and 5 subcutaneous devices), whereas 16 non-inducible athletes received an implantable loop recorder. During a median follow-up of 42 months, 11 major arrhythmic events occurred. Nine events occurred among inducible athletes and consisted of sustained ventricular arrhythmias (monomorphic VT, polymorphic VT, or ventricular fibrillation) successfully terminated by appropriate ICD therapy, whereas two major arrhythmic events occurred among non-inducible athletes and required successful resuscitation followed by ICD implantation. No arrhythmic deaths occurred during follow-up. Event-free survival at 50 months was 40.6% in inducible athletes and 95.9% in non-inducible athletes (log-rank P < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In symptomatic athletes with non-ischaemic LV scar and preserved LVEF, inducibility at EPS identifies a subgroup at higher risk of MAE, whereas non-inducibility is associated with a low event rate. EPS may represent a useful adjunctive tool for arrhythmic risk stratification in athletes, particularly in those without conventional high-risk features.</p>","PeriodicalId":11981,"journal":{"name":"Europace","volume":"28 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13550935/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148905576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
EuropacePub Date : 2026-09-02DOI: 10.1093/europace/euag222
Ahmed S Yassin, Bakhtawar Khan Mahmoodi, Bart A Mulder, Celina V Malyar, Michiel Rienstra, Sing-Chien Yap, Yuri Blaauw
{"title":"Incremental value of electroanatomical mapping during pentaspline pulsed field pulmonary vein isolation: the MAP-PFA pilot randomized trial.","authors":"Ahmed S Yassin, Bakhtawar Khan Mahmoodi, Bart A Mulder, Celina V Malyar, Michiel Rienstra, Sing-Chien Yap, Yuri Blaauw","doi":"10.1093/europace/euag222","DOIUrl":"10.1093/europace/euag222","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Clinicaltrials: </strong>gov registration: NCT07014423.</p>","PeriodicalId":11981,"journal":{"name":"Europace","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13550939/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148789854","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
EuropacePub Date : 2026-09-02DOI: 10.1093/europace/euag215
Yong Hao Yeo, Hermon Kha Kin Wong, Aravinthan Vignarajah, Min Choon Tan, Nishanthi Vigneswaramoorthy, Justin Lee, Luis Scott, Kamala P Tamirisa, Dan Sorajja, Christopher DeSimone
{"title":"Management of recurrent atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation: 5-year outcomes of repeat catheter ablation vs. antiarrhythmic therapy.","authors":"Yong Hao Yeo, Hermon Kha Kin Wong, Aravinthan Vignarajah, Min Choon Tan, Nishanthi Vigneswaramoorthy, Justin Lee, Luis Scott, Kamala P Tamirisa, Dan Sorajja, Christopher DeSimone","doi":"10.1093/europace/euag215","DOIUrl":"10.1093/europace/euag215","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Recurrence of symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) after catheter ablation (CA) is not uncommon. However, real-world long-term data on clinical outcomes of rhythm control strategies in patients with recurrent AF after CA remain limited.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>Using the TriNetX database, we identified adult patients (≥18 years) with recurrent AF after index CA. A 3-month blanking period was applied, during which no rhythm-control therapy was received. Patients were classified into two groups: repeat CA or initiation of antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance baseline characteristics. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Outcomes included all-cause mortality, all-cause hospitalization, heart failure (HF) exacerbation, ischaemic stroke, and major bleeding over 5 years. Among 4056 patients with recurrent AF post-CA, 17.2% underwent repeat CA. After PSM, 697 patients in the repeat CA group (mean age 68.9 ± 9.6 years; 35.7% female) and 697 in the AAD group (mean age 68.4 ± 10.0 years; 37.6% female) were analysed. Repeat CA was associated with lower all-cause mortality (3.3% vs 8.2%; HR 0.44; 95% CI, 0.27-0.72; P < 0.01), all-cause hospitalization (42.8% vs 56.4%; HR 0.71; 95% CI, 0.61-0.82; P < 0.01) and HF exacerbation (12.5% vs 24.8%; HR 0.50; 95% CI, 0.39-0.64; P < 0.01). No differences were observed in ischaemic stroke (5.3% vs 4.7%; HR 1.22; 95% CI, 0.77-1.96; P = 0.40) or major bleeding (4.6% vs 6.2%; HR 0.82; 95% CI, 0.52-1.29; P = 0.39).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Repeat CA was associated with lower mortality, hospitalization, and HF exacerbation over 5 years.</p>","PeriodicalId":11981,"journal":{"name":"Europace","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13540724/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148766415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
EuropacePub Date : 2026-09-02DOI: 10.1093/europace/euag260
Matteo Castrichini, Ramin Garmany, Michael J Ackerman, John R Giudicessi
{"title":"Flecainide reduces exercise-induced arrhythmic burden in PKP2-related arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy.","authors":"Matteo Castrichini, Ramin Garmany, Michael J Ackerman, John R Giudicessi","doi":"10.1093/europace/euag260","DOIUrl":"10.1093/europace/euag260","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11981,"journal":{"name":"Europace","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13621190/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148982385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
EuropacePub Date : 2026-09-02DOI: 10.1093/europace/euag250
Gina Sado, Carl Bonander, Katrin Kemp Gudmundsdottir, Catarina Djupsjö, Viveka Frykman Kull, Johan Engdahl, Emma Svennberg
{"title":"Incident heart failure in patients with screening-detected atrial fibrillation: a post hoc analysis of the STROKESTOP and STROKESTOP II studies.","authors":"Gina Sado, Carl Bonander, Katrin Kemp Gudmundsdottir, Catarina Djupsjö, Viveka Frykman Kull, Johan Engdahl, Emma Svennberg","doi":"10.1093/europace/euag250","DOIUrl":"10.1093/europace/euag250","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Atrial fibrillation is associated with increased risks of stroke, heart failure, and death. While stroke prevention is a key focus, heart failure is more frequent and a major contributor to mortality in atrial fibrillation. This study aimed to assess the incidence and timing of heart failure in screening-detected atrial fibrillation.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>This post hoc analysis included participants without prior heart failure from the STROKESTOP and STROKESTOP II randomized screening studies, in which individuals aged 75-76 years were invited to ECG-based atrial fibrillation screening. Incident heart failure diagnoses were obtained from national registries. Incidence rates were calculated per 100 person-years, and Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs). In STROKESTOP, 23% of participants with screening-detected atrial fibrillation developed heart failure (3.76 per 100 person-years), compared with 4.43 in patients with known atrial fibrillation and 1.08 in patients without atrial fibrillation. Screening-detected atrial fibrillation was associated with a three-fold higher heart failure risk vs. no atrial fibrillation (adjusted HR 3.19) and a risk comparable to known atrial fibrillation (adjusted HR 2.86). In STROKESTOP II, 20% developed heart failure (4.19 per 100 person-years), compared with 3.52 in known atrial fibrillation and 0.93 without atrial fibrillation. Screening-detected atrial fibrillation was associated with a four-fold higher heart failure risk vs. no atrial fibrillation (adjusted HR 4.73) and a higher risk than known atrial fibrillation (adjusted HR 2.59).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Screening-detected atrial fibrillation is associated with a high risk of heart failure, comparable to known atrial fibrillation, and is not a benign condition.</p>","PeriodicalId":11981,"journal":{"name":"Europace","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13595287/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148886885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
EuropacePub Date : 2026-09-02DOI: 10.1093/europace/euag244
Daniel Rodríguez Muñoz, Isabel López-Alacid, Lucía Cobarro Gálvez, Ez Alddin Rajjoub Al-Mahdi, Álvaro Marco Del Castillo, Javier Ramos Jiménez, Luis Borrego Bernabé, Fernando Arribas Ynsaurriaga, Rafael Salguero-Bodes
{"title":"Pulmonary vein isolation durability in a randomized trial comparing fluoroscopy-only vs. electroanatomic mapping strategies for pulmonary vein isolation with balloon-in-basket pulsed-field ablation.","authors":"Daniel Rodríguez Muñoz, Isabel López-Alacid, Lucía Cobarro Gálvez, Ez Alddin Rajjoub Al-Mahdi, Álvaro Marco Del Castillo, Javier Ramos Jiménez, Luis Borrego Bernabé, Fernando Arribas Ynsaurriaga, Rafael Salguero-Bodes","doi":"10.1093/europace/euag244","DOIUrl":"10.1093/europace/euag244","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Data on long-term durability of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with newer pulsed field ablation (PFA) platforms and incremental value of electroanatomic mapping (EAM) guidance remain limited. This study evaluated chronic PVI durability following ablation with a balloon-in-basket PFA catheter and compared outcomes of fluoroscopy-only vs. fluoroscopy plus EAM workflows.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>In this prospective, single-centre trial, consecutive patients with paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) underwent de novo PVI with a balloon-in-basket PFA catheter. Patients were randomized 1:1 to fluoroscopy-only or fluoroscopy plus EAM workflow. Systematic invasive remapping was planned >30 days after the index procedure. The dual primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of pulmonary veins (PVs) and of patients with all PVs durably isolated. The prespecified secondary endpoint was the comparison of procedural characteristics and PVI durability between workflows. Safety outcomes included major adverse events within 30 days of index or remapping procedures. Ninety-six patients (67.4 ± 9.2 years, 44.8% female, 57.3% with paroxysmal AF) underwent index ablation. Fluoroscopy time and number of applications were 3.4 [2.4-4.6] minutes and 15 [13-16], respectively. Systematic remapping was performed in 86 patients at a median of 41 days, with per-vein and per-patient durability of 341/350 (97.4%), and 79/86 (91.9%) respectively. PVI durability and chronic remapping parameters were comparable between guidance strategies. No major adverse events occurred.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A standardized balloon-in-basket PFA workflow for PVI achieved high PVI durability. EAM guidance did not confer additional procedural or durability benefit over fluoroscopy-only guidance.</p>","PeriodicalId":11981,"journal":{"name":"Europace","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13585463/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148886933","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
EuropacePub Date : 2026-09-02DOI: 10.1093/europace/euag034
Yu Zhang, Fang Qin, Yunfan Guan, Jie Wang, Lutong Pu, Yu Xia, Channa Zhang, Dong Wang, Xueyi Wu, Mo Zhang, Limei Wang, Wen Jiang, Lianming Kang, Lianjun Xu, Yucheng Chen, Lei Song
{"title":"Associations between specific non-sustained ventricular tachycardia characteristics and sudden cardiac death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.","authors":"Yu Zhang, Fang Qin, Yunfan Guan, Jie Wang, Lutong Pu, Yu Xia, Channa Zhang, Dong Wang, Xueyi Wu, Mo Zhang, Limei Wang, Wen Jiang, Lianming Kang, Lianjun Xu, Yucheng Chen, Lei Song","doi":"10.1093/europace/euag034","DOIUrl":"10.1093/europace/euag034","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) is a well-established risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, its characteristics have been overlooked. This study evaluates the prognostic value of NSVT characteristics, particularly coupling intervals, for HCM risk stratification.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>This retrospective, multicentre study included 2625 HCM patients. Twenty-four-hour Holter recordings were assessed for NSVT and its characteristics (frequency, duration, and coupling intervals). The primary endpoint was SCD; the secondary endpoints were cardiovascular and all-cause death. Two thousand five hundred and eighty-four patients were analysed (49.6 ± 15.2 years; 62.4% male). Non-sustained ventricular tachycardia occurred in 320 (12.4%). During the median follow-up of 4.4 years, there were 221 all-cause deaths (8.6%), 159 cardiovascular deaths (6.2%), and 64 SCDs (2.5%). Among characteristics, the second coupling interval best predicted adverse outcomes (optimal cut-off = 394 ms). Non-sustained ventricular tachycardia frequency and duration were not prognostic. In univariable and multivariable analyses, a second coupling interval < 394 ms markedly increased the risk of SCD [hazard ratio (HR) 8.36, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.33-16.12, P < 0.001], cardiovascular death (HR 3.64, 95% CI 2.07-6.37, P < 0.001), and all-cause death (HR 3.26, 95% CI 1.97-5.41, P < 0.001) vs. absence of NSVT, whereas a second coupling interval ≥ 394 ms did not. Replacing NSVT with malignant NSVT (NSVT with short second coupling interval) significantly improved SCD risk algorithms.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A short second coupling interval of NSVT poses a higher SCD risk in HCM than a long one. Detailed dissection of NSVT characteristics may improve decision-making for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation in HCM.</p>","PeriodicalId":11981,"journal":{"name":"Europace","volume":"28 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13581396/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148982332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
EuropacePub Date : 2026-09-02DOI: 10.1093/europace/euag212
Fengwei Zou, Sarah Xu, Justin Song, Ariel Gidon, Aung Lin, Nikil Prasad, Nils Guttenplan, Nicola Tarantino, Ronghua Yang, Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, Vincenzo Mirco La Fazia, Sanghamitra Mohanty, Andrea Natale, Vito Grupposo, Xiaodong Zhang, Luigi Di Biase
{"title":"Artificial intelligence-intracardiac echocardiography-guided pulsed field ablation of atrial fibrillation with variable-loop circular catheter.","authors":"Fengwei Zou, Sarah Xu, Justin Song, Ariel Gidon, Aung Lin, Nikil Prasad, Nils Guttenplan, Nicola Tarantino, Ronghua Yang, Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, Vincenzo Mirco La Fazia, Sanghamitra Mohanty, Andrea Natale, Vito Grupposo, Xiaodong Zhang, Luigi Di Biase","doi":"10.1093/europace/euag212","DOIUrl":"10.1093/europace/euag212","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) facilitates left atrial (LA) reconstruction during atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. The artificial intelligence-based CARTOSOUND FAM (AIFAM) module enables automated three-dimensional LA reconstruction without the need for a dedicated pre-ablation mapping catheter. While this workflow has been described previously in radiofrequency ablation, its application and outcome in pulsed field ablation (PFA) remain limited. The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and arrhythmia-free outcomes of a no-pre-mapping AIFAM-guided workflow during PFA using the variable-loop circular catheter (VLCC).</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>Patients undergoing PFA AF ablation using VLCC were screened and those using AIFAM-guided ablation without pre-map were included in the analysis. The LA shell was created using the AI-based ICE module from the right atrium without the need for a LA mapping catheter and was used as the only reference shell for PFA energy delivery. Baseline demographics, AF subtype, comorbidities, procedural details, and follow-up outcomes were analysed. Recurrence was assessed using a 60-day blanking period and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. A total of 412 patients underwent AF ablation using VLCC during the study period. Among them, 210 patients (mean age 68.1 ± 10.2 years; 54.8% male) underwent AIFAM-guided ablation without pre-map and were analysed. Atrial fibrillation subtype was paroxysmal in 52% and non-paroxysmal in 48%. Concomitant AF ablation and left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) were performed in 76 patients (36%). The mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3.4 ± 1.7, and the mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 56.2 ± 11.1%. All patients underwent pulmonary vein isolation, with additional PF lesions including posterior wall isolation in 87.5% and superior vena cava ablation in 60.5%. Skin-to-skin procedure time and LA dwell time were 78.8 ± 29.1 min and 47.1 ± 18.8 min for ablation alone and 87.3 ± 22.9 min and 54.6 ± 13.0 min for concomitant AF ablation and LAAO. Acute procedural success was achieved in 100% of cases. One acute non-catheter-related vascular complication (0.5%), and no late complications were documented. Among 184 patients with at least one follow-up, freedom from arrhythmia survival after the 60-day blanking was 77.7% in paroxysmal AF and 71.8% in non-paroxysmal AF at 270 days.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>AIFAM enables safe and reliable LA reconstruction for successful PFA ablation, including concomitant AF ablation and LAAO using VLCC, and reduces the need for pre-ablation mapping in select patients undergoing index ablation. This strategy demonstrated high acute success, low complication rates, and favourable arrhythmia freedom in a contemporary cohort.</p>","PeriodicalId":11981,"journal":{"name":"Europace","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13564388/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148818049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}